ed it. Willard was sent flying out of the roadway but Lewis was not. By the time Smith hit the brakes it was too late, he struck Lewis at approximately 40 miles per hour sending him 70 feet down the road. Massive injuries were inflicted and Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene.The case was first taken to the District Court where the allegations of deprivation of life without due process under the fourteenth amendment were brought against Sacramento County, the Sacramento County Sheriffs Department and Deputy Smith. In the United States Constitution the fourteenth amendment reads No State shall ... deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.(US Constitution) The court ruled in favor of Smith saying that there were no state or federal opinions prior to May of 1990 supporting the fourteenth amendment protection against high-speed pursuits. The court also referred to a California Vehicle Code 17004, which states [a] public employee is not liable for civil damages on account of personal injury to or death of any person or damage to property resulting from the operation, in the line of duty, of an authorized emergency vehicle ... when in the immediate pursuit of an actual suspected violator of the law. Phillip Lewis parents then took the case to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The court of appeals reversed the decision of the district court. The court stated that the appropriate degree of fault for substantive due process liability for high-speed police pursuits is deliberate indifference to, or reckless disregard for, a persons right to life and personal security.(Citation) The case of Sacramento v. Lewis was moved into the United States Supreme Court.The Supreme Court issued a writ of certiorari, a writ from a higher court to a lower one requesting a transcript of the proceedings of a case for review.(American Heritage) After looking over the case Justice Souter issued the opinion o...
