David updates viewers on the Third Circuit's Mervilus opinion on Section 1983 claims (pun intended)
This week in our case law updates, it is jam packed. Every court, every jurisdiction, top to bottom was active. So make sure you check it out. There is a lot to read.
One case that really jumped out though was the Third Circuit's ruling in Mervilus v. Union County. I hope I'm pronouncing this guy's n ame correctly because he and his legal team deserves some credit for a great appeal. It's a section 1983 claim against the county. Based on a polygraph examination that the plaintiff took when he was a suspect in an armed robbery. The polygraph examination that he took was based on the Arther method of polygraph examination.
And some of the factors that the Arther method takes into consideration are and you'll have to, excuse me. I'm going to read these they're so good. If an examinee is local and arrives with a third party, he or she is probably lying. Firstborn children are usually more nervous and ambitious. I should tell my sister. And the best one: The sexier a lady is dressed, the more likely she is lying.
So with such foolproof theories as these, the Arther method found that the plaintiff, Mr. Mervilus was lying about his involvement in this robbery, and he was convicted and sentenced to a substantial term of imprisonment in state court based essentially entirely on his failed polygraph examination.
The victim could not identify him. And in fact, identified a different person.
After this was all cleared up through substantial post-trial litigation. The plaintiff obviously sued the county and the district court dismissed the suit. The Third Circuit revived it. The Third Circuit held the bad faith standard in section 1983, claims that an officer who gives bad faith testimony well that bad faith standard includes the reckless disregard for the truth. And given this absurd Arther method, the court found that somebody could believe that that was bad faith and a reckless disregard for the truth.
And not only did Mervilus's legal team secure when, on that ground, they also won on the Monell claim, which allowed them to proceed against the county because they successfully argued that the county failed to supervise because they allowed this method to be used. So regardless of the verdict against the detective who administered this flawed polygraph examination,
The Third Circuit said that doesn't matter. You can still go after the county because their failure to train the detective, regardless of his bad faith testimony in the criminal trial, still there's grounds for a jury to believe that the county failed to properly supervise. It's a really big win in a really interesting case. I highly recommend reading it and I give a lot of credit to the legal team that secured this win for Mr. Mervilus, check it out, check out the other 30 or so opinion summaries.
Thanks for watching and we'll see you next week.