Appeals Court reinstates 8th Amendment claim of "excessive force"

The higher court in Cordell v. McKinney overturned a lower court decision granting a Deputy Sheriff's request for summary disposition of an "excessive force" constitutional violation suit. The Court noted that with two divergent explanations of the occurrence that resulted in the Deputy bashing the handcuffed plaintiff's head against a wall, the case was not appropriate for summary disposition.  It noted that the injuries suffered by Cordell were inconsistent with the Deputy's description of events and his own actions.  The judges concluded that a jury would not be unreasonable in concluding that the pain inflicted by the deputy on the handcuffed man was "sufficiently serious" to offend "contemporary standards of decency" and to evidence a "malicious intent to injure."