UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 98-2066
JOHN DERRICK SMITH,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
versus
CORPORAL BYRON E. TURNER,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland, at Greenbelt. Deborah K. Chasanow, District Judge. (CA-
97-1960-DKC)
Submitted: October 30, 1998 Decided: November 10, 1998
Before HAMILTON, LUTTIG, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
John Derrick Smith, Appellant Pro Se. Rhonda Lee Weaver, Upper
Marlboro, Maryland, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
John Smith appeals from a verdict rendered against him in the
District of Maryland. Smith sought damages from Officer Turner
under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (West Supp. 1998) and Maryland common law
for excessive force used in arresting Smith. We have reviewed the
record and find no reversible error. The trial court’s decision to
exclude Officer Turner’s prior act was not an abuse of discretion.
Smith accepted the racial composition of the jury at his trial, and
so this objection is waived. The district court’s instruction on
the definition of malice under state law comports with Maryland law
on malice and qualified immunity. Smith’s challenge to the suffi-
ciency of the evidence is denied as it does not appear that there
was a complete absence of probative facts supporting the jury’s
verdict. Finally, the alleged deficiencies of Smith’s attorney’s
trial performance are not cognizable in this civil appeal.
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
Smith v. Turner, No. CA-97-1960-DKC (D. Md. July 1, 1998). We dis-
pense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions
are adequately presented in the materials before the court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
2