Stephen King · Angel Carrazco Jr.
The Civil Rights Blueprint for Police Excessive Force Cases
May 25, 2026 ||
WHAT THIS TRAINING COVERS
The Claims Framework: Federal and State — Used Together
Most attorneys file § 1983 and stop there. This training shows you how to weaponize California state law alongside your federal claims. You will learn the full scope of remedies available under the Bane Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 52.1) — including its most powerful feature: no qualified immunity defense. You will also learn when to deploy negligence, battery, assault, and IIED claims, and how California's deadly force standard under CACI 1305B gives plaintiffs a strategic edge that federal law simply does not provide.
Qualified Immunity — How to Beat It
Qualified immunity kills more civil rights cases at the pre-trial stage than any other doctrine. This training breaks down the two-prong analysis, walks you through the cases that have narrowed the doctrine — including the Supreme Court's 2026 decision in Zorn v. Linton — and gives you a concrete strategy for building your qualified immunity attack from the moment you open the file. You will leave with a QI precedent quick-reference card and a two-prong attack worksheet tailored to Ninth Circuit law.
Pre-Filing Investigation and the Government Claims Act
The Government Claims Act is the trap that ends cases before they begin. You will get a step-by-step breakdown of the six-month deadline, the late claim petition safety valves, and every filing requirement a California plaintiff must satisfy before suit. You will also learn how to use the California Public Records Act, social media, and the DOJ website to build your investigation before you spend a dollar on discovery — and why preservation letters must go out within days of intake, not weeks.
Discovery Strategy: Finding What They Don't Want You to Find
This training walks you through exactly which documents to demand in every excessive force case — body-worn camera footage, CAD records, Internal Affairs files, personnel records, prior complaints, and training files — and how to sequence depositions to lock officers into their accounts before your investigation is complete. You will also learn how body camera gaps and video inconsistencies become your most powerful summary judgment tools.
If you can't attend Live, Watch On Demand