Bolin v. Milan
In this case, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the home of 68-year-old Louise Milan and her teenaged daughter by hurling flash bang grenades through the door and window and entering the home with an eleven-person SWAT team, despite lacking evidence suggesting that a dangerous individual was inside the home. Milan filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the officers used unconstitutionally excessive force in violation of her Fourth Amendment rights. The district court denied the officers’ motion for summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity, and the Seventh Circuit affirmed. The officers then filed a petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court arguing that they are entitled to qualified immunity.
Public Citizen was co-counsel for Milan in the Supreme Court and filed a brief in opposition arguing that the Seventh Circuit’s opinion was correct and consistent with Supreme Court precedent and the decisions of other courts of appeals. The petition was denied.