Now, sitting in the Lexus, he opened the draft opinion on his phone.
The court had already voted.
The majority was fixed.
Substantive changes were closed except for clerical corrections and citations.
The opinion would be released Tuesday morning.
The case concerned a municipal officer accused of knowingly violating constitutional protections during an arrest and then claiming qualified immunity.
Sam had written one of the central passages three weeks earlier.
Qualified immunity does not convert intentional misconduct into protected judgment. When an officer knowingly uses public authority for conduct the Constitution clearly forbids, the law does not require citizens to pretend the violation was an accident.
He reread the paragraph.
Not because he doubted it.
Because judicial language mattered.
A single careless sentence could affect hundreds of cases.
Sam was still considering whether a citation needed tightening when a patrol car entered the parking lot.
Officer Derek Holloway was not responding to a call.
He had finished lunch fifteen minutes earlier and was driving through Westbrook Plaza because the department encouraged visible patrol presence in commercial areas.
Derek liked that part of the job.
People noticed him.
Store managers waved.
Security guards greeted him.
He had been with the Westbrook Police Department for nine years.
Twice Officer of the Year.
Three commendations.
A photograph on a recruitment brochure.
He had the kind of file that looked impressive until somebody read everything not placed in the commendation section.
Eight civilian complaints had been filed against Derek in three years.
Four involved Black motorists stopped in or near affluent neighborhoods.
Two involved force during minor encounters.
One involved an allegation that Derek had searched a vehicle after consent was explicitly refused.
Another involved a college student who said Derek mocked his address because he “didn’t look like the type who lived there.”
Every complaint had been closed.
Insufficient evidence.
Policy ambiguity.
Officer discretion.
Unable to substantiate.
Internal affairs detective Daniel Cole had noticed the pattern six months earlier.
Captain Richard Briggs had noticed it much sooner.
Briggs simply chose a different response.
Derek was productive.
Derek made arrests.