United States v. Hill

99 F.4th 1289

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Victor HILL, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 23-10934

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

Filed: April 29, 2024

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, D.C. Docket No. 1:21-cr-00143-ELR-CCB-1

Brent Alan Gray, Lawrence R. Sommerfeld, U.S. Attorney Service-Northern District of Georgia, DOJ-USAO, Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta, GA, Bret Reed Hobson, U.S. Department of Justice, Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Drew Findling, Marissa Helene Goldberg, The Findling Law Firm, PC, Atlanta, GA, Arthur Louis Aidala, Law Offices of Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins, P.C., New York, NY, Lynsey Barron, Barron Law, LLC, Atlanta, GA, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before Rosenbaum, Newsom, and Marcus, Circuit Judges.

Rosenbaum, Circuit Judge:

The notion that "[n]o man is above the law and no man is below it"¹ is fundamental to our democratic republic's continuing viability. That principle applies equally to sheriffs (and other officers of the law) and detainees. And 18 U.S.C. § 242 vindicates that principle. It imposes criminal liability on anyone who, under color of law, willfully deprives another person of their constitutional rights. Under § 242, a jury convicted Victor Hill, the former Sheriff of Clayton County, Georgia, of using his position as the Sheriff to deprive detainees in his custody of their constitutional rights. Hill now appeals.

Hill oversaw the Clayton County Jail. At that jail, officers used restraint chairs for "safe containment" of pretrial detainees "exhibiting violent or uncontrollable behavior." But six times, Hill ordered individual detainees who were neither violent nor uncontrollable into a restraint chair for at least four hours, with their hands cuffed behind their backs (or, in one instance, to the sides of the chair) and without bathroom breaks. Each detainee suffered injuries, such as "open and bleeding" wounds, lasting scars, or nerve damage. Based on these events, a jury convicted Hill of six counts of willfully depriving the detainees of their constitutional right to be free from excessive force, in violation of § 242.

Hill challenges that conviction on three grounds. We reject each one. First, Hill had fair warning that his conduct was unconstitutional—that is, that he could not use gratuitous force against a compliant, nonresistant detainee. Second, sufficient evidence supported the jury's conclusion that Hill's conduct had no legitimate nonpunitive purpose, was willful, and caused the detainees' injuries. Third, the district court did not coerce the jury verdict but properly exercised its discretion in investigating and responding to alleged juror misconduct.

So after careful consideration, and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm Hill's conviction.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background²

Defendant-Appellant Victor Hill served as Sheriff of Clayton County, Georgia, from 2005 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2022. As Sheriff, Hill oversaw the county jail, where pretrial detainees are incarcerated. Hill characterized the jail, under his supervision, as a "paramilitary facility" with "a lot of rules" like "in a military boot camp."

In his role as Sheriff, Hill received annual use-of-force trainings. Consistent with this training, Hill adopted a use-of-force policy defining "excessive force" as "any force used in excess of the amount of force reasonably required to establish control over or to prevent or terminate an unlawful act of violence."

In 2018, Hill bought restraint chairs for the Clayton County Jail and established a policy for their use. At trial, the Government introduced the following photo of a restraint chair:

Image materials not available for display.

Hill adopted a general policy for the use of all types of physical-restraint devices. It provided that a detainee posing a risk of "actual violence for [himself] or others . . . shall be placed into isolation" first. And it emphasized that only if the detainee "continues to exhibit physical violence toward staff, [himself], or others" should he "be placed into restraints."

Besides this policy, Hill adopted a specific restraint-chair policy. Under it, the chairs were "for emergencies," such as "safe containment of an inmate exhibiting violent or uncontrollable behavior" and preventing "self-injury, injury to others or property damage." Chair use, the policy continued, could "never be authorized as a form of punishment." And when a situation called for chair use, officers were to remove handcuffs, and detainees were to be "kept in the restraint chair no longer than four (4) hours unless exigent circumstances exist, i.e., inmates [sic] continued violent behavior." Also under the policy, a detainee had to receive medical clearance before being put in the chair. Finally, the policy mandated regular medical checks and "scheduled exercise periods" for those who were restrained.

Hill and his deputies used the chair about 600 times. According to Hill, he ordered chair use as a "preventative measure" based on "pre-attack indicators" and the "totality of [the] circumstances." And when Hill ordered chair restraint of a detainee, only Hill could order his release from the chair, typically after "at least four hours."

This case concerns Hill's restraint-chair use on six³ pretrial detainees in 2019 and 2020. We recount the facts of each arrest and detention, organized by detainee, below.

1. Raheem Peterkin

In December 2019, Raheem Peterkin was arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at two men outside his apartment and "barricading" himself in the apartment despite officers' repeated requests to come outside. According to the arresting officer, during his arrest and booking, Peterkin was never violent, uncontrollable, or threatening.

After Peterkin arrived at the jail, Hill and specialized security officers—known as the "Scorpion Response Team" ("SRT")—visited Peterkin's holding cell and questioned Peterkin about his alleged offenses. Hill said, "I wish I was there. I would have riddled your ass with bullets." And then he told SRT members to "put that bitch in the chair."

On Hill's order, officers strapped Peterkin into a restraint chair. Peterkin remained there, with his hands cuffed behind his back, for four hours. While in the chair, Peterkin experienced pain in his wrist and side. He testified that the pain was "the worst thing [he] ever felt," and the restraints left scars on both of his wrists. Officers did not allow him to use the restroom, so he was forced to urinate on himself.

2. Desmond Bailey

In February 2020, officers arrested Desmond Bailey for drug and firearm possession. While officers were executing a search warrant, Bailey left his house in a car, requiring officers to follow him before they could stop and arrest him. The arresting officer testified that during his arrest and booking, Bailey was never violent, uncontrollable, or threatening.

In his holding cell at the jail, Bailey told detectives that he did not want to speak to them without a lawyer present. But several hours later, Hill, the detectives, and SRT members arrived, and Hill questioned Bailey about his alleged offenses. Bailey again refused to answer questions without a lawyer present. Hill replied, "You think you're a big badass. Oh, you think you're a gangster. Put his ass in the chair."

On Hill's order, officers strapped Bailey into a restraint chair. There Bailey sat, with his hands cuffed behind his back, for six hours. Bailey described his time in the chair as "horrible" and "terrifying." He testified that he was in extreme pain and eventually felt numb. The restraints cause Bailey to suffer "open and bleeding" cuts on both wrists, which required medical treatment and left scars.

3. Joseph Arnold

In February 2020, officers arrested Joseph Arnold for assaulting two elderly women during a dispute about who was next in line at a grocery store, though they did not arrest him until three weeks after the incident. Following the incident, Hill put Arnold on the Sheriff's Department's "top ten" most wanted list and offered "$2500 of [his] own money to anyone who would lead authorities to identify" Arnold. The arresting officer testified that Arnold was cooperative, non-threatening, and did not resist arrest.

Upon Arnold's arrival at the jail's booking area, Hill confronted Arnold. The jury saw an officer's surreptitious recording of that interaction. When Arnold, who was handcuffed, asked whether he was entitled to a fair and speedy trial, Hill responded,

You entitled to sit in this chair, and you're entitled to get the hell out of my county and don't come back. That's what you're entitled to. You sound like a damn jackass. Don't you ever put your hand on a woman like that again. You're fortunate that wasn't my mother or grandma or you wouldn't be standing there. Now, sit there and see if you can get some damn sense in your head.

On Hill's order, officers strapped Arnold into a restraint chair. There Arnold remained, with his hands cuffed to the sides of the chair, for at least four hours. Arnold testified that the restraints were "painful and humiliating" and left marks on his wrists that did not heal for weeks.

4. Cryshon Hollins (C.H.)

In April 2020, officers arrested Cryshon Hollins (then 17 years old) for vandalizing his family's home. Deputy Allen, who happened to be Hill's godson, spoke with Hill on the phone, texted Hill a photo of Hollins handcuffed in the back of the police car, and had this text message exchange with Hill:

Hill: How old is he?

Allen: 17

Hill: Chair

Again, the arresting officers, as well as officers who were in the jail's intake area, testified that Hollins was never violent, uncontrollable, or threatening.

On Hill's order, officers strapped Hollins into a restraint chair immediately upon his arrival at the jail. Hollins cried because he felt like he was "being tortured," and he was forced to urinate on himself. After four to five hours, officers...