Jeffrey P. Downer, Pamela J. DeVet, and Natalie M. Cain won dismissal of an civil rights claims on summary judgment in Michael v. Public Defender et al., U.S.D.C. Eastern District of Washington. Plaintiff brought the action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging a conspiracy between his erstwhile public defender and the prosecution in his criminal case, and seeking an injunction ordering the public defender to surrender the plaintiff’s client file. The trial court agreed that the public defender (1) was not a state actor under § 1983, and (2) could not be ordered to surrender materials that no longer existed, and dismissed all claims for injunction relief related to the client file. The trial court also ruled that the plaintiff’s conspiracy claims were barred under Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994), because a prisoner-plaintiff may not use a civil rights action under § 1983 to challenge the validity of his conviction.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 00:30:21 +0000