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Supreme Court sees video of police chase

Justices will decide if the suspect can sue.

WASHINGTON - Video of a police chase that left a Georgia teenager paralyzed - the "scariest chase I've seen since The French Connection," one Supreme Court justice said - played a key role Monday in arguments over the actions of a sheriff's deputy.

A camera in the dashboard of the police cruiser that rammed Victor Harris' black Cadillac captured the moment when Harris lost control and veered off the road and down an embankment.

Harris sued former Coweta County sheriff's Deputy Timothy Scott, accusing the deputy of violating his civil rights. The court is deciding whether the lawsuit can proceed in its first case in 20 years on police use of deadly force to stop fleeing suspects.

Several justices showed a close interest in the chase that preceded the crash, with an eye toward justifying Scott's action as reasonable to prevent injury to other drivers and pedestrians.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Harris was endangering lives by fleeing from the police. "Anyone who has watched that tape has got to come to that conclusion, looking at the road and the way that this car was swerving, and the cars coming in the opposite direction. This was a situation fraught with danger," she said.

When Harris' lawyer, Craig Jones of Atlanta, said his client was driving fast but not erratically, even using his turn signal before passing other cars, the justices were unimpressed.

Harris won rulings from two lower courts that he could take his lawsuit to trial.

A decision in Scott vs. Harris is expected before July.

Fast Facts:

Other Supreme Court action

The court accepted these appeals Monday:

- A challenge to Washington state's non-partisan primary system, in which the top two finishers advance to the general election even if they are from the same party.

- A dispute over what constitutes the use of a gun during a drug buy. Federal appeals courts are split over whether a gun provided in exchange for drugs amounts to the use of a gun, triggering a mandatory prison term of at least five years.

- A case from New York over whether taxpayers must reimburse parents who enrolled their learning-disabled student in private school after deciding public schools were unable to meet the child's needs.

[Last modified February 27, 2007, 01:08:15]