Motion: Omit news of Riley's pregnancy

SANDPOINT — A motion has been filed to keep jurors from knowing that Jeanetta Riley was pregnant when she was killed in a confrontation with Sandpoint Police officers in 2014, according to U.S. District Court records.

Peter Erbland, counsel for the city and its officers in a wrongful death suit filed by the fathers of Riley’s children, argues Riley’s unborn fetus is considered neither a person nor a citizen under federal civil actions for deprivation of civil rights. Moreover, a suit brought under that section of federal code does not provide a cause of action on behalf of a deceased person, according to a motion in limine filed on Thursday in Idaho’s federal court.

“Any probative value of evidence of Jeanetta’s pregnancy would be substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice towards the defendant officers, would confuse the issue at trial, and is irrelevant to whether or not the force used at the time of the incident was excessive and in violation of Jeanetta’s constitutional rights,” Erbland said in the eight-page motion.

Riley, 35, was shot to death by two officers after she allegedly advanced on them while refusing commands to drop a knife she was holding. The shooting took place outside Bonner General Health on July 8, 2014.

Dana Maddox and Raymond Foster filed the suit in 2016. It alleges excessive force, wrongful death and a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act because Riley suffered from mental illness.

A motion in limine — Latin for “the threshold” — asks for a court order limiting or preventing certain evidence from being presented to jurors to avoid the interjection of matters which are arguably irrelevant, inadmissible or prejudicial.

The motion also seeks to prevent the plaintiffs or its lay witnesses from testifying as to legal conclusions regarding the officers’ training and use of force. It further seeks to prohibit lay witnesses from rendering medical conclusions about Riley’s mental health or discussing pretrial settlement negotiations.

The pending motion also calls for the exclusion of the officers’ personnel records and references to insurance coverage. It also requests permission to use visual aids during opening statements, court records show.

The trial is scheduled to start on Aug. 5.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.