Free Motion in Limine - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:04-cv-01126-MJW-PAC

Document 57

Filed 12/01/2005

Page 1 of 3

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Civil Action No. 04-CV-01126-MJW-PAC

BRIAN HILDENBRANDT, Plaintiff,

v. THE CITY OF COLORADO SPRINGS, a Colorado municipal corporation, Defendant.

MOTION IN LIMINE

COMES NOW Defendant, the City of Colorado Springs ("City"), by and through the Office of the City Attorney, and moves this Court to preclude any testimony concerning the death of Detective Michael Yeater. As grounds therefore, Defendant states as follows: 1. Detective Michael Yeater was a plain clothes officer assigned to security at the NATO

conference of October, 2003. Detective Yeater observed the Plaintiff and his companion, Curt Curtis, enter the limited access area without authorization. Detective Yeater wrote a criminal affidavit supporting charges of trespass against the Plaintiff and Mr. Curtis. 2. Subsequent to the NATO conference, Detective Yeater died in an accident while he

was off duty and was at his home. A local newspaper reported the circumstances of Detective Yeater's death as involving an accident that occurred while he was intoxicated.

Case 1:04-cv-01126-MJW-PAC

Document 57

Filed 12/01/2005

Page 2 of 3

3.

The above-information has no relevance to any material issue in this case under

F.R.E. 401 and 402. There is no issue concerning the legality of Plaintiff's arrest in this case since Plaintiff's Fourth Amendment claim was dismissed by this Court on September 19, 2005. In addition, an off-duty accident which took the life of Michael Yeater has no relevance to any First Amendment issue in this case. 4. Assuming for the sake of argument only, that Michael Yeater's off-duty death had

some sort of relevance, the probative value of the same would be substantially outweighed by the danger of confusion of the issues or unfair prejudice under F.R.E. 403. WHEREFORE, Defendant asks this Court for an order precluding Plaintiff from attempting to introduce any evidence concerning the off-duty death of Michael Yeater. Dated this 1st day of December, 2005. Respectfully submitted, PATRICIA K. KELLY City Attorney/Chief Legal Officer Reg. No. 014408

s/Thomas J. Marrese Thomas J. Marrese Senior Attorney Reg. No. 15138 Colorado Springs City Attorney's Office 30 South Nevada Avenue, Ste. 501 P.O. Box 1575, Mail Code 510 Colorado Springs, Colorado 80901-1575 Telephone: (719) 385-5909 Facsimile: (719) 385-5535 E-mail: [email protected] Attorneys for Defendant City of Colorado Springs 2

Case 1:04-cv-01126-MJW-PAC

Document 57

Filed 12/01/2005

Page 3 of 3

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE (CM/ECF) I hereby certify that on December 1, 2005, I electronically filed the foregoing MOTION IN LIMINE with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the following e-mail addresses: [email protected], and I hereby certify that I have mailed or served the document or paper to the following non CM/ECF participants in the manner (mail, hand-delivery, etc.) indicated by the non-participants name:

s/Tiffany M. Haywood Tiffany M. Haywood Legal Assistant Colorado Springs City Attorney's Office 30 South Nevada Avenue, Ste. 501 P.O. Box 1575, Mail Code 510 Colorado Springs, Colorado 80901-1575 Telephone: (719) 385-5909 Facsimile: (719) 385-5535 [email protected]

3