CJK successfully handled and defended their position on appeal in Wheeler v. Lawson (N.D. Ind. 2008), a case that has been cited 725 times, primarily related to the qualified immunity defense. Plaintiff alleged the Officer Lawson violated her constitutional rights and falsely arrested her because of her estranged husband causing an explosion in her garage as a result of a methamphetamine laboratory fire. CJK was successful in arguing that the officer had probable cause to arrest her based on, in part, an elaborate camera system that led to the door of the garage where the fire occurred and the fact that the husband no longer lived in the residence. The 7th Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment based on qualified immunity finding that there was arguable probable cause and that plaintiff had the burden and failed to meet her burden of defeating the affirmative defense of qualified immunity.
