$177,000 Jury Award Reversed in O.C. Jail Beating Allegation

A jury award of $177,000 to a former Orange County jail inmate in 2003 was overturned this week by a state appeals court.

The ruling, issued Wednesday, reversed a jury decision that awarded the money to Robert N. Carter of West Covina, who said deputies beat him several times while he was in jail.

Jurors awarded $77,000 in compensatory damages from the county and $100,000 in punitive damages from Sheriff Michael S. Carona for failing to adequately supervise and train jail deputies.

But a three-judge panel from the 4th District Court of Appeal held, in a 27-page opinion, that Carter was entitled to nothing.

“The evidence does not support the judgment against the County and Carona,” the ruling said. “As a result, plaintiff is not entitled to recover any damages, including punitive damages, or attorney fees.”

The lawsuit stems from accusations by Carter that a total of 10 deputies beat him at different times after he was booked into the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana on Feb. 16, 2000, on suspicion of possessing a cocaine pipe and violating his parole.

Carter said he suffered injuries to his thumb, hip and jaw and that he later walked with a limp and had problems with his speech and mobility.

Michael Morrison, an attorney who represented Carter on appeal, said he would again appeal, to the state Supreme Court.