As a member of the legal team representing the victim of a shooting by an off-duty Chicago police officer, CCL filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. 

     In the underlying case, Michael LaPorta was shot in the head by an off-duty officer, using his service revolver, during an argument the two were having at the officer's home. LaPorta survived, but suffered devastating injuries that will require lifetime care. The officer, who was the subject of 19 different complaints about his use of violence both on and off the job, but never disciplined, believed himself above the law. Even after this shooting, for which he was never disciplined, fellow officers attempted to cover up his crime and the City of Chicago attempted to defend its liability by claiming that the shooting was a suicide attempt.

     A jury found the city liable for its policies, customs, and practices of not disciplining police officers so that they could act outside the law with impunity because of their status. The Seventh Circuit reversed the verdict, holding that the city had no obligation to protect anyone from private violence from an off-duty police officer. 

    The new petition asks the court for reconsideration because precedent holds that a municipality can be liable for injuries where the city's policies, customs, and practices are the "moving force" behind the injury. By requiring that the injury be carried out by a state actor, as the opinion did, the brief argues that the panel improperly overruled existing precedent.

    The petition was primarily written by Chicago-Kent law professor Carolyn Shapiro. Others on the case besides CCL include the Romanucci & Blandin law firm of Chicago, Michael Rathsack of Chicago, and David Rudovsky of Philadelphia.