⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Ninth Circuit considers a civil-rights suit against Kent police officer James Sherwood. Cristian Navarrete spent more than four months in jail after being identified as a shooting suspect. His lawsuit says surveillance showed one suspect substantially shorter than the other, while Navarrete was almost as tall as the taller suspect. He accuses Sherwood of leaving out that discrepancy and misrepresenting a teenage witness's identification in warrant documents. Sherwood disputes deliberate or reckless deception and says the evidence still established probable cause, a reasonable basis to believe Navarrete committed the crime. The suit invokes Section nineteen eighty-three, the federal law allowing claims that state or local officials violated federal rights. The district court found factual disputes requiring trial and refused to dismiss Navarrete's claims against Sherwood. Sherwood seeks qualified immunity, which protects officials from civil damages unless their conduct violated clearly established constitutional rights. This is an interlocutory appeal, brought before trial. Sherwood's counsel will ask the court to reverse the ruling.

Navarrete v. Sherwood, et al. (No. 25-6449) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued October 14, 2026.