Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 1 of 12 PageID: 4808
Tracy
L.
Riley,
Esquire
Law
Offices
of
Riley
and
Riley
The
Washington
House
100
High
Street,
Suite
302
Mount
Holly,
New
Jersey
08060
(609)
914-‐0300
Attorney
for
Defendants
Moore,
Devlin,
and
Abrams
UNITED
STATES
DISTRICT
COURT
FOR
THE
DISTRICT
OF
NEW
JERSEY
:
STEVEN
M.
STADLER,
:
Civil
Action
No.:
13-‐cv-‐2741
:
Plaintiff
:
:
v.
:
:
OPPOSITION
TO
PLAINTIFF’S
CITY
OF
ATLANTIC
CITY,
:
MOTIONS
IN
LIMINE
AND
CROSS-‐
GLENN
ABRAMS,
JR.;
JOHN
A.
DEVLIN;
:
MOTION
TO
BAR
REFERENCE
TO
AND
WILLIAM
MOORE,
:
OFFICERS’
IA
HISTORY
AND
BAR
:
TESTIMONY
OF
WITNESSES
IDENTIFIED
Defendants
:
HEREIN,
MOTION
TO
BAR
PLAINTIFF’S
:
COUNSEL
FROM
STATING
SPECIFIC
:
PREJUDICIAL
AND
IRRELEVANT
REMARKS
:
:
TO:
Jennifer
Bonjean,
Esquire
1000
Dean
Street,
Suite
422
Brooklyn,
NY
11238
PLEASE
TAKE
NOTICE
that
on
February
13,
2018,
at
9:00
a.m.
or
as
soon
thereafter
as
counsel
may
be
heard,
defendants,
by
and
through
their
attorney,
Tracy
L.
Riley,
Esquire,
shall
move
before
the
United
States
District
Court,
at
the
Mitchell
H.
Cohen
Building
and
United
States
Courthouse,
Fourth
and
Cooper
Streets,
Camden,
New
Jersey,
for
an
Order
denying
Plaintiff’s
Motions
in
Limine
and
Granting
Defendants’
Cross-‐
Motions.
PLEASE
TAKE
FURTHER
NOTICE
that
defendants
hereby
request
oral
argument.
Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 2 of 12 PageID: 4809
Plaintiff
has
filed
three
Motions
in
Limine.
First,
Plaintiff
moves
to
preclude
Defendants
from
introducing
evidence
involving
Plaintiff’s
criminal
history.
Second,
Plaintiff
seeks
an
Order
permitting
Plaintiff
to
introduce
evidence
related
to
Officer
Abrams’s
Internal
Affairs
history.
Finally,
Plaintiff
has
moved
for
an
Order
permitting
Plaintiff
to
introduce
evidence
related
to
Officer
Devlin’s
Internal
Affairs
history.
Defendants
oppose
these
motions
for
the
reasons
contained
herein.
Further,
Defendant’s
cross-‐move
in
limine
to
preclude
reference
to
the
defendant
officers’
IA
history
and
to
bar
the
testimony
of
several
witnesses
who
Plaintiff
has
subpoenaed
to
testify.
Finally,
Defendants
move
to
bar
Plaintiff’s
counsel
from
making
certain
prejudicial
and
irrelevant
statements.
A.
Plaintiff’s
Criminal
History
In
considering
motions
in
limine,
"[t]he
Federal
Rules
of
Evidence
can
aptly
be
characterized
as
evidentiary
rules
of
inclusion,
which
are
designed
to
broadly
permit
fact-‐
finders
to
consider
pertinent
factual
information
while
searching
for
the
truth."
Univac
Dental
Co.
v.
Dentsply
Int'l,
Inc.,
268
F.R.D.
190,
196
(M.D.
Pa.
2010).
All
relevant
evidence
is
admissible
unless
otherwise
stated
by
the
Constitution,
statue
or
other
Federal
Rules.
FED.R.EVID.
402;
Rule
609
of
the
Federal
Rules
of
Evidence
governs
the
admissibility
of
a
witness's
prior
convictions
for
impeachment
purposes.
Rule
609(a)
provides:
(a)
General
Rule.
For
the
purpose
of
attacking
the
credibility
of
a
witness,
(1)
evidence
that
a
witness
other
than
an
accused
has
been
convicted
of
a
crime
shall
be
admitted,
subject
to
Rule
403,
if
the
crime
was
Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 3 of 12 PageID: 4810
punishable
by
death
or
imprisonment
in
excess
of
one
year
under
the
law
under
which
the
witness
was
convicted,
and
evidence
that
an
accused
has
been
convicted
of
such
a
crime
shall
be
admitted
if
the
court
determines
that
the
probative
value
of
admitting
this
evidence
outweighs
its
prejudicial
effect
to
the
accused;
and
(2)
evidence
that
any
witness
has
been
convicted
of
a
crime
shall
be
admitted
if
it
involved
dishonesty
or
false
statement,
regardless
of
the
punishment.
First,
Defendants
do
not
intend
to
introduce
evidence
of
Plaintiff’s
convictions
prior
to
2009.
While
Defendants
reserve
the
right
to
impeach
Plaintiff
with
respect
to
his
criminal
history
should
he
open
the
door,
paragraphs
4-‐7
of
Plaintiff’s
motion
[Doc.
No.
210]
are
not
currently
in
dispute.
However,
defendants
assert
that
Plaintiff’s
2009
felony
conviction
for
third
degree
theft
is
admissible
under
a
R.
609
analysis.
In
this
case,
Plaintiff
has
a
2009
felony
conviction
for
third
degree
theft.
Plaintiff
asserts
that
the
probative
value
of
the
conviction
is
“outweighed
by
it’s
prejudicial
effect”.
Plaintiff
ignored
the
real
operative
phrase
pertaining
to
this
analysis-‐
which
is
unfair
prejudice.
Plaintiff
cannot
show
unfair
prejudice.
Of
course,
there
could
be
prejudice
whenever
there
is
evidence
of
a
conviction.
However,
the
rules
of
evidence
provide
for
the
admissibility
of
the
2009
conviction.
The
fact
that
Plaintiff
will
admit
that
he
committed
burglary
on
the
night
of
the
incident
does
not
limit
or
preclude
reference
to
the
2009
conviction.
Plaintiff
moves
to
preclude
his
2013
conviction
of
resisting
arrest
in
connection
with
this
case.
He
asserts
that
the
“mere”
conviction
for
resisting
arrest
as
related
to
Officer
Devlin
is
not
admissible.
Defendants
disagree.
This
is
an
excessive
force
case
wherein
Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 4 of 12 PageID: 4811
Plaintiff
pled
guilty
to
resisting
arrest.
There
is
no
exclusion
under
R.
609
for
that
conviction.
Moreover,
Plaintiff
admits
that
he
pled
guilty
to
resisting
arrest.
He
set
forth
a
factual
basis
on
the
record,
under
oath.
Defendants
assert
that
Plaintiff’s
conviction
for
resisting
arrest
is
admissible.
Plaintiff
failed
to
disclose
other
convictions.
Defendants
also
intend
to
use
the
most
recent
convictions
of
October
2017
including
burglary
and
resisting
arrest.
B.
Opposition
to
Plaintiff’s
Motions
to
Introduce
Evidence
“Related”
to
Officers’
Internal
Affairs
History
and
Cross-
Motion
to
Bar
same
Defendants
are
in
receipt
of
two
other
motions
filed
by
Plaintiff
[Doc.
209]
&
[Doc.
212]-‐
one
pertaining
to
Defendant
Officer
Abrams
and
one
pertaining
to
K9
Handler
Officer
Devlin.
First,
Plaintiff
begins
both
motions
by
seeking
to
introduce
evidence
“related”
to
the
Atlantic
City
Police
Department’s
Early
Warning
System.
Plaintiff
broad-‐brushes
his
entire
argument
in
this
respect.
Plaintiff
uses
overly
broad
terms
such
as,
“Plaintiff
will
show”
and
“Plaintiff
will
introduce
evidence
to
prove
this
point”.
This
is
a
case
involving
literally
tens
of
thousands
of
documents
and
countless
depositions.
Plaintiff’s
motion
is
far
too
broad
and
essentially
seeks
unlimited
authorization
to
introduce
information
that
Defendants
would
argue
has
no
relevance
to
this
case.
The
Court
must
not
permit
Plaintiff
to
broad-‐
brush
a
topic
such
as
the
Early
Warning
System,
which,
if
permitted,
will
lead
to
multiple
trials
within
this
trial.
Plaintiff
asserts
that
he
will
show
that
“although
Atlantic
City
“counted”
internal
affairs
complaints,
it
did
nothing
to
identify
patterns
among
its
officers
who
triggered
the
EWS”.
See
[Doc.
No.
209]
p.
2
This
analysis
must
begin
with
the
New
Jersey
Attorney
General
Guidelines,
which
provides
the
purpose
of
the
early
warning
system.
The
2011
Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 5 of 12 PageID: 4812
New
Jersey
Attorney
General
Guidelines
provide,
“In
order
to
enhance
its
integrity,
provide
an
optimal
level
of
service
to
the
community
and
reduce
it’s
exposure
to
civil
liability,
every
law
enforcement
agency
should
establish
procedures
for
dealing
with
problem
employees”.
See
2011
NJ
Attorney
General
Guidelines
Internal
Affairs
Policy
and
Procedure
(emphasis
added)
Taking
that
purpose
into
consideration,
Defendants
assert
that
1.)
The
NJ
Attorney
General
Guidelines
do
not
even
require
an
Early
Warning
System,
but
rather
recommend
one,
and
2.)
There
is
no
evidence
from
the
Early
Warning
System
from
which
one
could
conclude
that
there
is
a
“problem
employee”.
The
early
warning
“memos”
that
have
been
produced
in
discovery
simply
identify
an
officer,
an
IA
number,
the
type
of
IA
complaint,
and
the
disposition.
There
is
no
analysis
as
to
the
actual
cases,
no
analysis
as
to
the
actual
investigation,
and
to
date,
no
expert
opinion
as
to
the
validity
of
the
underlying
investigations.
Therefore,
Defendants
assert
that
discussion
of
the
early
warning
system
is
not
relevant
to
the
case
at
hand.
As
will
be
discussed
below,
Plaintiff
in
this
case
demanded-‐
and
the
Court
ordered
the
production
of
over
2,000
confidential
Police
Internal
Affairs
files.
Plaintiff’s
proffered
expert
provided
a
report
containing
an
analysis
(which
is
mostly
statistical
in
nature)
as
to
only
33
IA
files.
Accordingly,
there
is
no
analysis
as
to
the
validity
of
the
investigations
pertaining
to
the
IA
cases
listed
on
a
given
early
warning
memo,
or
the
Defendant
officers’
IA
cards.
The
Atlantic
City
Police
Department
has
had
some
“early
warning”
mechanism
in
place
since
at
least
the
early
ninety’s.
Whether
it
be
called
“early
warning
system”,
“risk
management”,
or
“records
review”
depends
on
the
given
year
or
policy.
The
Atlantic
City
Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 6 of 12 PageID: 4813
Police
Department’s
policies
with
regard
to
the
early
warning
mechanism
vary.
For
example,
the
policies
are
different
pre-‐2010
from
2010-‐2012,
which
is
different
from
2012
to
the
present.
Whatever
early
warning
system
evidence
Plaintiff
seeks
to
introduce
will
require
both
an
analysis
of
each
and
every
IA
investigation
(including
testimony
from
each
IA
investigator)
as
well
as
an
analysis
of
the
policy
at
the
time.
Defendants
assert
this
will
needlessly
lead
to
numerous
trials
within
a
trial
and
will
result
in
an
undue
consummation
of
time.
What
is
more,
the
Defendant
Officers
assert
that
evidence
pertaining
to
the
early
warning
system
will
result
in
unfair
prejudice.
Attacking
this
mechanism
could
result
in
the
unfair
inference
that
ACPD
did
something
wrong-‐
when
the
mechanism
was
not
even
required
in
the
first
place.
For
these
reasons,
Defendants
assert
that
evidence
relating
to
the
early
warning
system
should
not
be
permitted.
It
is
not
relevant
to
the
case
at
hand
because
no
analysis
of
the
IA
investigations
has
been
performed.
It
is
unfairly
prejudicial
to
the
defendant
officers.
In
the
alternative,
Plaintiff’s
motion
should
be
denied
as
pre-‐mature
and
vague.
Defendants
should
have
the
right
to
assert
an
objection
to
specific
evidence
as
Plaintiff
attempts
to
introduce
it.
Plaintiff
should
not
be
given
“free
reign”
to
introduce
whatever
evidences
he
chooses
as
it
“relates”
to
the
early
warning
mechanism.
i.
The
Defendant
Officers’
Internal
Affairs
History
Plaintiff
next
seeks
to
introduce
evidence
of
past
internal
affairs
complaints
made
against
Defendant
Officers
Abrams
and
Devlin.
Defendants
oppose
this
evidence
as
unfairly
prejudicial.
Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 7 of 12 PageID: 4814
Plaintiff
identifies
three
specific
IA
complaints
as
it
pertains
to
Officer
Abrams.
[Doc.
No.
209
at
p.
4]
Plaintiff
seeks
to
introduce
evidence
pertaining
to
IA
files
09-‐163;
09-‐168;
and
12-‐268.
First
and
foremost,
there
is
no
IA
file
numbered
12-‐268.
IA
file
09-‐163
has
to
do
with
a
complaint
of
standard
of
conduct
and
theft.
This
2009
IA
complaint
has
nothing
to
do
with
a
complaint
of
excessive
force,
or
the
use
of
force
at
all-‐
which
is
the
issue
in
this
case.
IA
09-‐168
involves
a
2009
administrative
complaint
by
former
Chief
Mooney
for
neglect
of
duty
and
possession
of
CDS
(contraband
was
allegedly
not
inventoried
properly).
Again,
this
complaint
has
nothing
to
do
with
an
allegation
of
excessive
force.
Therefore,
Defendants
assert
this
evidence
is
irrelevant
to
the
instant
case
and
would
result
in
unfair
prejudice.
What
is
more,
there
has
been
absolutely
no
analysis
as
to
the
investigations
into
these
matters.
Plaintiff’s
proffered
expert
does
not
opine
as
to
validity
of
these
investigations
and
whether
the
investigations
conformed
to
the
Attorney
General
guidelines.
Should
this
information
be
introduced
at
trial,
Defendants
would
then
seek
to
elicit
testimony
as
to
the
facts
of
each
complaint
and
elicit
testimony
as
to
each
investigation,
again,
resulting
in
numerous
trials
within
a
trial.
Plaintiff
was
given
enormous
latitude
during
the
discovery
period
of
this
case
and,
as
noted
above,
received
(via
Court-‐Order)
over
2,000
confidential
files.
Plaintiff’s
expert
does
not
provide
an
analysis
of
any
of
the
IA
files
Plaintiff
seeks
to
use
from
the
Defendant
Officers’
IA
histories.
As
it
pertains
to
the
defendant
officers’
IA
histories,
Plaintiff’s
expert
focuses
purely
on
statistics
with
no
analysis
into
the
actual
investigations
of
the
cases.
Therefore,
if
the
Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 8 of 12 PageID: 4815
investigations
are
proper
and
the
dispositions
justified,
how
is
it
relevant
or
not
prejudicial
to
discuss
these
complaints?
Plaintiff
goes
on
to
seek
to
introduce
evidence
pertaining
to
eight
additional
IA
Complaints
made
against
Officer
Abrams.
While
these
files
do
involve
allegations
of
excessive
force,
again,
Plaintiff’s
expert
has
provided
no
analysis
of
the
actual
investigations
with
respect
to
these
complaints.
While
Plaintiff
concedes
that
practically,
it
is
unlikely
that
he
will
call
all
eight
complainants
to
testify,
as
another
practical
matter,
the
parties
do
not
know
what
complainants
will
actually
appear
to
testify.
This
is
clearly
a
maneuver
to
mislead
the
jury
from
the
facts
of
Plaintiff’s
case.
To
be
sure,
if
Plaintiff
is
permitted
to
reference
other
IA
complaints
made
against
the
defendant
Officers,
Defendants
will
seek
to
elicit
testimony
as
to
the
facts
of
each
case,
including
each
complainant’s
criminal
dispositions,
if
applicable,
and
elicit
testimony
from
each
IA
investigator.
As
it
pertains
to
Defendant
Officer
John
Devlin,
Plaintiff
seeks
to
introduce
evidence
as
to
six
(6)
IA
files.
Again,
Plaintiff’s
expert
performed
no
analysis
into
these
investigations.
Plaintiff’s
expert
report
with
respect
to
the
individual
officers
is
limited
to
the
type
of
complaint,
the
number
of
complaints,
and
dispositions.
Plaintiff’s
expert
does
not
comment
on
and
does
not
opine
whether
the
investigations
conformed
to
the
applicable
guidelines.
Therefore,
with
no
expert
testimony
as
to
the
investigations,
evidence
“relating”
to
the
underlying
complaints
should
be
barred.
Additionally,
the
Defendant
Officers
assert
that
any
evidence
offered
to
suggest
that
Atlantic
City
“rewarded”
officers
with
“lengthy”
complaint
histories
by
appointing
them
to
the
“prestigious”
K9
unit
is
unfairly
prejudicial.
How
can
Plaintiff
support
such
a
fanciful
and
nonsensical
theory
Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 9 of 12 PageID: 4816
with
no
expert
analysis
into
the
investigations
of
IA
complaints?
Defendants
assert
he
cannot
and
Plaintiff’s
motion
should
be
denied
in
that
respect.
Plaintiff
seeks
to
introduce
evidence
pertaining
to
IA
file
13-‐076.
This
alleged
incident
took
place
after
the
incident
involving
Plaintiff.
Specifically,
this
file
involves
an
incident
that
took
place
on
April
24,
2013.
Therefore,
Defendants
assert
that
any
information
pertaining
to
this
file
should
be
barred,
as
it
is
not
relevant
to
the
instant
case.
C.
Defendants’
Motion
to
Bar
the
Testimony
of
Numerous
Subpoenaed
Witnesses
The
Defendant
Officers
move
in
limine
to
preclude
the
testimony
of
several
witnesses
to
whom
Plaintiff
has
served
or
attempted
to
serve
with
subpoenas
to
testify
at
trial.
The
Court
may
be
aware
that
Plaintiff
identified
154
witnesses
in
his
portion
of
the
Joint
Final
Pre-‐trial
Order.
Of
those
identified,
Plaintiff
has
issued
41
subpoenas
to
various
witnesses-‐
the
majority
of
whom
have
nothing
to
do
with
the
underlying
incident.
Defendants
move
to
preclude
the
testimony
of
the
following
individuals
on
grounds
of
relevance
and/or
unfair
prejudice:
Atlantic
City
Police
Department
Employees:
Officer
Joseph
Rodriguez;
Officer
Michael
Oldroyd;
Officer
Sterling
Wheaten;
Officer
Stephen
Cupani;
Sgt.
Frank
Timek
Atlantic
City
Administration
Former
Mayor
Lorenzo
Langford;
Current
Chief
of
Police
Henry
White
(was
not
the
chief
at
the
time
of
this
incident);
Former
Chief
of
Police
Mooney(was
not
the
chief
at
the
time
of
this
incident
and
proffered
testimony
involves
the
suspension
of
K9s
in
2009.)
Defendant
Officer
Devlin’s
ex-wife
Jessica
Bedsole
(identified
as
Jessica
Devlin
in
the
JFPO)-‐
Officer
Devlin’s
ex-‐wife
has
no
relevant
testimony
with
regard
to
the
instant
case.
Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 10 of 12 PageID: 4817
The
above
individuals
have
absolutely
nothing
to
do
with
the
case
at
hand.
To
the
extent
that
Plaintiff
indicates
these
individuals
will
provide
testimony
relevant
to
his
Monell
claim,
Defendant
Officers
object
on
grounds
of
unfair
prejudice.
Plaintiff’s
expert
performed
an
analysis
of
only
33
IA
files.
Plaintiff
should
not
be
permitted
to
subpoena
any
officer
from
ACPD
and
subject
him
or
her
to
questioning
about
his/her
IA
history.
Plainitff
had
the
opportunity
for
his
expert
to
provide
an
analysis
and
failed
to
do
so.
If
this
is
permitted,
again,
Defendants
will
seek
to
elicit
the
facts
from
each
IA
case,
elicit
testimony
from
each
investigator
and
even
seek
to
add
rebuttal
witnesses.
This
position
is
not
intended
to
be
disrespectful
of
the
Court’s
time.
It
is
simply
a
position
for
a
reasonable
defense
if
Plaintiff
is
permitted
to
use
complaints
and
numbers
without
anything
further
support.
In
the
alternative,
Defendant
Officers
renew
the
bifurcation
application.
Moreover,
for
the
reasons
stated
above,
Defendants
move
to
preclude
the
following
IA
Complainants
who
have
been
subpoenaed
by
Plaintiff:
Leon
Henry;
Tyre
Davis;
Robert
Creek;
James
Hill;
Jermain
Elliot;
Khali
Nelson;
Julius
Baldwin;
and
Michael
Veneziani.
Notably,
Plaintiff
has
identified
several
witnesses
on
his
portion
of
the
Joint
Final
Pre-‐trial
Order
whom
his
counsel
represents/represented
in
former
and/or
current
litigation.
These
witnesses
include,
but
are
not
limited
to:
David
Connor
Castellani;
Julius
Adams;
Charlie
Harrison;
and
Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 11 of 12 PageID: 4818
Anthony
Moore.
Defendants
are
not
in
receipt
of
subpoenas
that
have
been
issued
to
these
individuals,
but
object
to
their
testimony
nonetheless.
In
the
event
that
any
of
these
individuals
appear
to
testify
without
notice
to
defense
counsel,
Defendants
request
an
opportunity
to
be
heard
outside
of
the
presence
of
the
jury
to
address
these
objections.
D.
Motion
to
Bar
Plaintiff’s
Counsel
from
Making
Certain
Irrelevant
and
Prejudicial
Comments
Defendants
move
in
limine
to
preclude
Plaintiff’s
counsel
from
referencing
her
opinions
of
law
enforcement
and
referencing
any
information
pertaining
to
any
of
her
personal
family
or
friends
employed
in
law
enforcement
in
the
presence
of
the
jury.
Defendants
move
to
preclude
counsel
from
indicating
to
the
jury
that
she
is
a
“fighter
for
what
is
right”.
Said
reference
is
improper
and
irrelevant.
Defendants
move
in
limine
to
preclude
Plaintiff’s
counsel
from
utilizing
overly
hyperbolic
language
in
her
opening
statement
or
closing
argument.
Specifically,
Defendants
move
to
preclude
any
statements
or
reference
comparing
this
case
or
the
City
of
Atlantic
City
or
the
Atlantic
City
Police
Department
to
“1950’s
Alabama”.
Said
reference
or
any
similar
reference
is
improper
an
unfairly
prejudicial.
Case 1:13-cv-02741-RBK-AMD Document 216 Filed 02/11/18 Page 12 of 12 PageID: 4819
Conclusion
For
all
of
the
reasons
contained
herein,
Defendants
respectfully
request
this
Court
deny
Plaintiff’s
Motions
in
limine
and
grant
Defendant’s
Cross-‐
Motions.
Respectfully
submitted,
Law
Offices
of
Riley
and
Riley
___/s/Tracy
L.
Riley________
Tracy
L.
Riley,
Esquire
Dated:
February
11,
2018