Andre Brooks v. Charlotte Cook Mark L. Mechanic County of Los Angeles

CYNTHIA HOLCOMB HALL, Circuit Judge:

Andre Brooks appeals a jury verdict in favor of the defendants on his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim. Brooks asserts that he was prejudiced by several erroneous jury instructions. He also appeals an award of attorneys’ fees, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988, to the prevailing defendants. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we reverse.

I

On January 14, 1985, Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputies Charlotte Cook and Mark Mechanic stopped a ear driven by Brooks’s brother, in which Brooks was a passenger. The deputies testified that they stopped the car…