Police Misconduct in Bankrupt Cities: Ninth Circuit Update

"But Chapter 9 has awakened, and we do not presume further disputes over its interpretive and practical complexities will remain long at rest."

So says a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Deocampo v. Potts (14-16192), filed since the last Credit Slips posting about civil rights debts in municipal bankruptcy. My working paper is newly revised to discuss the Ninth Circuit's ruling. Just a few points here.

The Ninth Circuit reached the right result in holding that the Vallejo bankruptcy did not relieve the police officer defendants of their individual liability for 1983 violations (excessive force). The court also held that Vallejo's state law obligation to indemnify the police officer defendants was not discharged by the city's bankruptcy, arising as it did after the city received its discharge.

Another element of the opinion should alarm civil rights advocates, however. For example, although it does not decide the issue, the panel suggests a surprising (especially for the Ninth Circuit) level of openness to explicit non-debtor releases of police officers in municipal bankruptcy restructuring plans. Surely everyone involved with the pending San Bernardino case is paying close attention.