Merced Rojas v. Town of Cicero

EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge.

Merced Rojas contended in this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 that the Town of Cicero violated the First Amendment by-firing him because he supported a political opponent of Larry Dominick, the Town’s president. After an eight-day trial, a jury found in Rojas’s favor and awarded him $650,000 in damages.

The victory was short-lived. District Judge Holderman granted defendants’ motion for a new trial, concluding that Dana L. Kurtz, Rojas’s lawyer, had engaged in serious misconduct during the trial. 2011 U.S. Dist. Lexis 147867 (N.D.Ill. Dec. 22, 2011). Judge Holderman…