Phillips appeal dismissed

Last Thursday (Jan. 30), the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal filed by the family of Desmond Phillips, who was fatally shot by Chico police on March 17, 2017.

The Phillips family had been challenging a district court judge’s decision last July to grant a city motion for summary judgment, thereby throwing out the family’s wrongful death lawsuit before a trial.

However, the appeal hit a snag after the Phillips family fired high-profile civil rights attorney John L. Burris. In court documents, the family said Burris “proved to be unfit.”

The family proceeded by representing itself, but ultimately did not file an opening brief by a Dec. 30 deadline. The appeal was dismissed for “failure to prosecute.”