Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: filing suit federal or municipal

In general, the six-month deadline applies only to state law negligence claims and there is a two-year statute (no claim required) for 42 USC Section 1983 lawsuits in federal court. But most excessive-force lawsuits contain both types of claims. A competent attorney would know this. You have waited till the last minute and probably screwed things up beyond repair, as police-excessive-force lawsuits are a specialized area of law; and there is no way you are going to be successful trying to play amateur lawyer on your own case. Your case will be dismissed and you will owe court costs. If you had consulted me or some other lawyer who is experienced in this field, and not waited till two days before you claim one of the time limits will run out, you might have gotten legal advice in time. I have not met or spoken to you or reviewed your case, so I do not know for sure what the time limits are in your case, only that you will be out of luck if you fail to meet them.

Re: filing suit federal or municipal

You can file in either state court, in the county of the Board of Supervisors, or federal court. You can file in both, but the claims must be different and the explanation is too difficult to explain here. Your best bet is to file in state court, immediately, and to then see an attorney. With the extremely short time limit, no competent attorney would take your case before the statute expires. You might still have a viable claim in federal court under the Civil Rights Act cited by Mr. Stone in his reply.