A federal appeals court in Denver has upheld the conviction of a former New Mexico sheriff accused of pulling a gun on a motorist and striking him with his badge.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit affirmed the civil rights violation conviction for ex-Rio Arriba County Sheriff Thomas Rodella in a ruling filed Wednesday.
Rodella was sentenced in January to 10 years in federal prison for abusing a driver in a bizarre, off-duty traffic stop that prosecutors described as a fit of road rage. He also was ordered to pay a $200,000 fine and $10,335 in restitution.
But his attorney, John Cline, had argued that improper jury instructions created an unfair trial.
Cline says the traffic stop was legal because the motorist was driving carelessly.
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