William Donta, Jr. v. Thomas Hooper Charles F. Hunter Larry Brooks Floyd Rose Jeff Altherr Jack Morgan James Mannering Anthony Robinson, State of Ohio

Plaintiff-Appellant, William Donta, Jr. brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for illegal search, illegal seizure of property, and illegal arrest. The district court directed a verdict for the defendants on the issue of the search. A jury found that good faith immunity protected the defendants with regard to the seizure and arrest. On appeal, Donta challenges the directed verdict and argues that under Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), the district court improperly placed the purely legal issue of the defendants’ good faith immunity before the jury. Upon…