October 17 - Section 1983

Navigating Discovery in Section 1983 Police Misconduct Cases

This presentation will focus on the following issues that arise in discovery in the context of alleged police misconduct: 1) the difference between discovery directed towards the officers themselves and discovery directed towards the municipality (and how to deal with those differences); 2) how to prepare an officer for a deposition (shifting their mindset from criminal to civil); and 3) how to conduct discovery with an eye towards summary judgment and the possibility of trial.

Speakers: Erika Reis & Nicole O’Connor

 

Erika P Reis is Senior Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Boston in the Litigation Division where she focuses on a range of civil matters both in federal, state and administrative courts. She primarily handles civil rights, employment, and M.G.L. c. 258 cases. Prior to joining the City of Boston’s Law Department, Ms. Reis served as Counsel for Eversource Energy, Deputy General Counsel at the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General, and as an Assistant District Attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Ms. Reis is Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. She is also an alumnus of the Boston Bar Association’s Public Interest Leadership Program and a Partnership Inc. Fellow. Ms. Reis is a graduate of Boston College and New England Law Boston.

Nicole M. O’Connor is a Senior Assistant Corporation Counsel with the City of Boston Law Department. Since joining Boston in 2012, Nicole has focused her practice on defending City of Boston employees, usually police officers, in Section1983 litigation. She appears most often in federal court in Massachusetts but has practiced before state courts and administrative agencies as well. Prior to joining Boston, Nicole worked for another municipality in Massachusetts. Nicole received her BA from the College of the Holy Cross and her JD from Suffolk University in Boston.