Sassi v. Dutchess County et al., 9:16-cv-1450 (USDC NDNY)
On May 10, 2019, Gregg Johnson secured a defense verdict from a federal jury in a civil rights case. After successfully dismissing several of the Plaintiff’s claims by a pre-trial summary judgment motion (Sassi v. Dutchess Cty., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15387 (N.D.N.Y. 2019)), the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York held a jury trial regarding a former inmate’s claims under the First and Fourth Amendments. This inmate’s First Amendment claim alleged that his right to freely exercise his religion was unreasonably restricted by the County Jail staff. The inmate’s Fourth Amendment claim alleged that the County Jail staff were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs when they allegedly limited his access to a medical device during the day. After a four-day trial, the eight-member jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Mr. Johnson’s client on May 10, 2019, and a final Judgment was entered in his client’s favor on May 13, 2019.