Wilson v. Williams
| Decision Date | 30 November 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-2637,97-2637 |
| Parties | 50 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 659 Jackie WILSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. James K. WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Steven H. Hoeft (submitted), Craig H. Zimmerman, McDermott, Will & Emery, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Richard A. Devine (submitted), Michael D. Jacobs, David S. Meyerson, Office of the State's Attorney of Cook County, Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellee.
Before WOOD, JR., COFFEY and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.
The inmate plaintiff, Jackie Wilson, filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil suit claiming that he was assaulted by a corrections officer, James Williams, while he was confined and awaiting trial on charges for murder and armed robbery of two Chicago police officers. Before this civil suit went to trial, Wilson was convicted of the murder of one of the officers and acquitted of the other, and was found guilty of committing both armed robberies. Prior to the murder trial, Wilson filed a motion in limine to bar the reception of evidence of the murder victim's occupation and the motion was denied by the trial judge. During his opening statement, plaintiff Wilson's attorney told the jurors that they would hear evidence that his client had been convicted of murdering a police officer. Wilson, during cross-examination by defense counsel, admitted that he had been convicted of murdering a Chicago police officer, without objection from his attorney. Nor did Wilson's attorney object when one of Williams' witnesses, Corrections Officer Thomas Cavallone, testified that, shortly after the alleged altercation between Wilson and Williams, Wilson loudly boasted to several corrections officers that he had "killed two Chicago police officers." During his closing argument, Wilson's counsel emphasized the occupation of his client's murder victim, using the term "cop killer" no less than seven times. The jury found for the defendant Williams. On appeal, 2 Wilson claims that although it was proper for the jury to be advised that he had been convicted of murder, the court committed error in allowing the introduction of evidence that the victim was a police officer.
We hold that Wilson waived his objection to the introduction of evidence regarding his murder victim's occupation by failing to renew his motion in limine at trial and by failing to timely object when the disputed evidence was introduced. Furthermore, Wilson waived his objection by preemptively informing the jury of the very evidence that he wanted to exclude, and making repeated reference to such evidence, including using it for his own strategic purposes in his closing argument. Because Wilson waived his objection to this evidence, we affirm.
On June 23, 1988, the plaintiff herein, Jackie Wilson ("Wilson"), was being held in pretrial detention in the Cook County (Illinois) Jail, awaiting trial for the murder and armed robbery of two Chicago police officers. The afternoon of the altercation, Wilson was in the "dayroom" watching television with a fellow inmate, Aryules Bivens ("Bivens"). Inmate Johnny Walker Red ("Red") was scheduled to return to the area from a court proceeding. On his way, Red would be passing through the dayroom to return to his cell. According to the testimony at trial, Red was not well liked as he was loud, obnoxious, and "aggravated people."
One of the corrections officers, Nona Cameron, testified that shortly before Red passed through the dayroom, Wilson told her that if Red had occasion to enter the room, "they [presumably meaning Wilson and Bivens] was going to kick his ass" because they were tired "of being disrupted all night long." This threat raised enough concern for Cameron to prompt her to ask her superior officer to send another corrections officer to escort Red to his cell. 3 James Williams, the defendant corrections officer, was assigned to escort Red. Although Williams knew the charges Bivens and Wilson were facing at the time, he was not personally acquainted with either one of them, nor did he have knowledge of any threats Wilson made against Red. Officer Williams was of the belief that this was nothing but a routine prisoner transfer, the kind he had engaged in hundreds of times before.
Williams escorted Red into the dayroom, and the security door was closed behind them at this time. Officer Williams testified that he then heard someone at his side yell, "Get the MFer." He turned and observed Wilson and Bivens running toward him and Red. Officer Williams explained that Bivens grabbed the front of his shirt, and at the same time Wilson, who had run behind Williams, struck Williams on the right side of his head. At that point, Red darted out of the dayroom and into the corridor. Bivens followed, slamming the heavy steel dayroom door shut. During this time frame, Wilson continued to assault Officer Williams. Williams reached for Wilson and struggled with him, and the two fell to the floor, rolling and tussling around, exchanging punches. Williams called for help, whereupon Officer Cameron radioed for assistance. Several of the prison guards, hearing the "officer down" emergency radio call, responded to the scene and entered the dayroom to break up the altercation and assist Officer Williams. The first to arrive was Corrections Officer Long, who observed Williams on his back with Wilson straddling him and continuing to rain punches upon him. Officer Long, in assisting his fellow Officer Williams, pulled Wilson off of him. At this time, Williams rolled to the side and sat against the wall, exhausted and out of breath, as several corrections officers attempted to restrain Wilson.
At trial, inmate Wilson gave a different account of the events surrounding his altercation with Officer Williams. He stated that he and Bivens had been watching television when Red entered the dayroom, carrying some belongings, with Williams several steps behind him. Bivens, who testified that he wanted to "scare the hell out of" Red because he was a "stool pigeon," stepped between Red and Officer Williams. Red walked away from Bivens and walked past the gate leading to the corridor. Bivens followed, slamming the door closed behind him and leaving Wilson and Officer Williams locked in the dayroom alone. Wilson testified that Red looked "spooked" by the sound of the slamming door, and that he (Wilson) laughed at this, whereupon Officer Williams, unprovoked, threw him to the floor and assaulted him. Wilson stated that he asked Williams what his problem was, and received no response. He further testified that the two of them fought for several minutes before the other officers came to the scene and broke up the fight. According to Wilson, although he was now restrained, an enraged Officer Williams continued to assault him, kicking him several times in the head (prisoner Bivens testified that he saw Officer Williams and the other corrections officers kicking Wilson, and further testified that Wilson was kicked forty to fifty times). Wilson stated that thereafter, he was escorted from the tier and, while being escorted down some stairs, was pushed from behind by an unknown officer, lost his balance, and fell down the stairs, further injuring himself. This charge was denied by the officers who escorted him. They testified that one officer preceded Wilson in the stairwell while another followed him, and that Wilson neither fell nor was pushed down the stairs. Wilson also alleges that after he was pushed down the stairs, he was taken to a "security post" where Officer Williams resumed beating him.
The parties agree that Wilson was taken from the security post to the jail's medical care facility, Cermak Health Services. One of his escorting officers, Thomas Cavallone, testified that Wilson, while on his way to the health center, was talking very loudly and stated, "I already killed two Chicago police officers." Wilson, on his first trip to the health center, refused medical treatment and the doctor noted on his report that Wilson was "hostile and angry." Wilson was returned to the cell block, but later requested medical treatment and was again escorted to the medical care facility. According to Officer Cavallone, during this second trip Wilson proclaimed, 4
Another corrections officer, Officer Long (the corrections officer who pulled Wilson off of Officer Williams), testified about a statement made by Wilson, this one occurring in the dayroom on July 28, 1988, that is, about a month after the altercation. Long explained at trial that Wilson kicked over a chair and at the same time hollered about his hatred for the Department of Corrections ("DOC") in general, and his hatred for Officer Williams in particular, for interfering with his assault on another inmate:
During his physical exam, Wilson claimed to the treating doctor that, during the altercation, he was kicked in the face several times and that he was hit in the head, back, groin, and...
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