I am doing a prisoner’s excessive force case. From an ethics standpoint, how much can a defense lawyer bring in about a police officer’s background? Is it unethical for a defense lawyer to question a plaintiff in a civil rights case about the details of a prior conviction?
There’s always a fine line in civil cases between presenting some background information about a party and ending up vouching for a party. An experienced defense lawyer in a prisoner civil rights case or excessive force case will certainly try to personalize the police officer. There is nothing wrong with that. But there is a limit. A defense lawyer should not be allowed to present awards won by a police officer for service in the community and things of that nature. That evidence would have no bearing on the case. In a civil case, one cannot present character testimony. Some evidence of a police officer’s background is allowed, because the standard is what a reasonable police officer would think, and there has to be some background so the jury can get a sense of the police officer.
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