Graham v. Connor Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

Graham v. Connor | 490 U.S. 386 (1989)

When a diabetic has an insulin reaction, his body systems start shutting down and he collapses into shock. But consider Dethorne Graham. His insulin reaction led to far more shocking consequences and to the case of Graham versus Connor.

Graham knew his blood sugar was dangerously low. His friend Berry drove Graham to a store where he could buy sugary orange juice. Graham entered the store, but he left immediately after seeing the lengthy checkout line, and asked Berry to take him elsewhere. Observing this hasty exit and guessing that Graham had robbed the store, police officer M. S. Connor stopped Graham and began questioning him.

Graham moved erratically. Soon, he swooned and fell to the sidewalk. Berry explained that his friend was having a reaction and desperately needed sugar, but Connor believed Graham was just drunk. Backup officers arrived and helped Connor handcuffed Graham. They slammed him into the police car's hood and shoved him inside. They released Graham only after learning that the store hadn't been robbed.

Graham suffered serious injuries from this encounter. He filed a section 1983 action accusing Connor and the other officers of violating the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. The district court dismissed the case and the Fourth Circuit affirmed. Both courts held that Graham failed to show that the officers were maliciously or sadistically motivated. Graham appealed to the Supreme Court.




#casebriefs #lawcases #casesummaries

[caseybokavich]

so much more to this incident than briefly outlined. very poor.

[regularamericandad]

Way to leave out a lot of facts to the case. This is not a fair and impartial description of what happened.

[zaxles]

I’ve seen people drink what they are buying while waiting in line? I’d assume if I was potentially about to die from diabetes a store would allow me to drink it while I wait in line. Maybe he wasn’t thinking rationally

[BackTheBlueTillItHappensToYou]

So after it went to the supreme Court and then they remanded it back down to the trial court, what was the ultimate result? Was Connor convicted of violating his rights with excessive force?

[suekugler]

That was so wrong and unnecessary, because it was too short a time to do anything.

[bajj]

Very biased video and description of events.

[larryasselin]

This is exactly what we learn as armed guards, sure little loose on the story, but facts are right

[OustFox]

The issue here was that Graham had to wait in a long line for something to treat his low blood sugar, so he opted to leave without buying anything instead of risking a dangerous low.

This is why, as a diabetic during such an emergency, we drink/eat what we need to then pay for it when possible. So long as you pay for the product it can be explained why you consumed it first. However him leaving the store looked suspicious and prompted an investigation.

The police did not 100% need to detain him, however if he was diabetic he should have had it listed on his driver's license, as well as a medical band/bag that could be used as proof. However neither are mentioned in the case study.