Michael Brown's killing brought to light the horrific case of Henry Davis, who was beaten by Ferguson cops, then charged with bleeding on them. Now he's finally allowed to sue them.

The Ferguson cops charged Henry Davis with destruction of property because he bled on their uniforms when they beat him.

Then, as if fearing it might be outdone in ridiculousness, a federal district court ruled that Davis could not sue the cops for violating his Fourth Amendment rights because they had not injured him badly enough as he lay handcuffed on the jailhouse floor, a working man arrested on a traffic warrant in a case of mistaken identity.

"As unreasonable as it may sound, a reasonable officer could have believed that beating a subdued and compliant Mr. Davis while causing only a concussion, scalp lacerations and bruising with almost no permanent damage did not violate the Constitution," the district court ruled in tossing out the case.

Davis appealed and his attorney James Schottel responded to absurdity with legal reasoning. He argued that the decisive factor was not the seriousness of Davis's injuries but the nature of the officers' actions.

The district court had ruled that the officers enjoyed "official immunity" because they "acted within their discretion and caused only de minimis [slight] injuries."

Schottel contended that official immunity "does not apply to discretionary acts done in bad faith or with malice."

The appeals court could not have been clearer in its response on Tuesday.

"We agree."

The court went on to say, "That an officer's conduct caused only de minimis injuries does not necessarily establish the absence of malice or bad faith as a matter of law."

In recapping the case, the appeals court noted that Davis had been arrested by Police Officer Christopher Pillarick early on the morning of September 20, 2009. Davis was brought to what the appeals court calls "the crowded Ferguson jail." Pillarick and Police Officer John Beaird escorted Davis to a cell where the only bunk was occupied.

"Davis requested a mat from a nearby stack," the court says. "Pillarick refused because Davis was not cooperating. Davis refused to enter the cell."