Nominal Damages Victory – Section 1983 Police Misconduct Case Against Seattle Police Department Has Value in Teaching Police a Lesson About Important Limitations in Terry Stops

Not all victories are huge victories. But, sometimes, even the smallest victories for our clients have lasting effects and serve to educate various powers that there are limits to the exercise of their authority. Justice comes in all shapes and sizes. And, nowhere is there more dramatic proof of that statement than the case of Andrew Rutherford v. Jason McKissack, et al., where an award of nominal damages taught the Seattle Police Department that limits exist on how they can conduct investigatory stops and what kind of force they are entitled to use when detaining occupants of a vehicle following a traffic stop involving minor misdemeanor offenses.