Read the 3rd Circuit’s opinion in Harvard v. Cesnalis. It is equal parts sad and unbelievable. In this Section 1983 suit, the police believed a (White) violent attacker’s implausible story, discredited the (Black) plaintiff’s corroborated and perfectly plausible story, and charged the plaintiff with DUI despite his heroic acts to protect a stranger from her attacker. The 3rd Circuit went through a text-book analysis for false arrest and related claims before reversing the district court’s grant of summary judgment on the plaintiff’s most important claims.
