Tricia L. Hynes

Overview

Tricia Hynes’ practice is primarily in the litigation of federal constitutional issues, with an emphasis on civil rights litigation and law enforcement liability. She has handled numerous civil rights wrongful death actions and has developed expertise in cases related to excited delirium, electronic control devices (tasers) and involuntary psychiatric holds (Welfare and Institutions Section 5150).
 
Recently, Tricia secured a complete defense verdict for a peace officer accused of Fourth Amendment violations when he shot the plaintiff’s pit-bull mix in self-defense. After the occupants refused them entry, police made an early morning entry into the home based on a 9-1-1 call that someone in the home was dying from a drug overdoes.  The eight-member jury rendered a unanimous defense verdict in under two hours. Silva v. City of San Leandro, et al.
 
Tricia also successfully defended a city, one of its police officers and its chief of police in a 5150 case wherein the plaintiff was detained as a potential danger to herself and others, pending evaluation by a medical professional. Tricia successfully moved for summary judgment at the trial court level in Federal District Court by arguing that the officer was entitled to qualified immunity for his decision to place the plaintiff on a psychiatric evaluation hold. The court granted the motion in its entirety. Tricia went on to successfully defend the city and its officers, creating favorable precedential law in the 5150 arena. The Ninth Circuit Opinion can be found at Bias v. Moynihan, et al.
 
Tricia was also able to successfully obtain summary judgment and dismissal of a city and its four officers in an incident where a plaintiff began hallucinating and later refused to leave his hotel room. Four days after this incident, the plaintiff was involved in a high-speed pursuit with state police, which ended with the plaintiff becoming paralyzed from the chest down. The plaintiff sued the city and its officers and the state and its officers. Tricia was able to convince the court that the officers’ use of force was reasonable under the totality of the circumstances, without ever having to reach the temporal connection issue. She was also able to obtain a judgment awarding costs for the city.

 
In addition to her courtroom practice, Tricia advises law enforcement clients on issues ranging from use of force and vehicle pursuit policies to public records act requests. She leads Meyers Nave’s Pitchess defense practice, through which she and her team assist cities in opposing demands to access confidential peace officer personnel records.
 
Tricia is also well versed in governmental tort defense. She handles dangerous condition claims from the government tort claims phase through litigation. She has successfully argued summary judgment motions based upon trivial defect, design immunity and myriad other immunities unique to Meyers Nave’s public entity clients.
 
Tricia frequently speaks and publishes articles in her areas of practice. Recent examples include seminars dealing with the following topics: “Practical Steps to Avoid or Reduce Litigation,” “The Art of Deposition,” “The Interplay between the California Public Records Act and Federal Discovery in Civil Litigation,” “Defending Your Agency and Officers Against Pitchess Motions,” and “In-Custody Death Cases involving Tasers, Excited Delirium and ‘Positional Asphyxia’.”
 
Prior to joining Meyers Nave, Tricia interned at the Office of the General Counsel for the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Tricia also clerked for the Honorable Arnold New in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.