Officer's Improper Tactics Tainted Later Arrest
ALEMAN v. VILLAGE OF HANOVER PARK (November 21, 2011)
Rick Aleman operated a daycare in his Hanover Park home. Joshua, one of the children in his care, had been feverish and lethargic his first two days under Aleman’s care. Then, on the third day, he stopped breathing. Aleman picked him up and shook him gently to see if he could get a response. Getting none, he performed CPR and then called 911. Joshua was taken to the hospital and Aleman was taken to the police station. He was held for several hours without questioning and then questioned for several hours. Although Aleman was allowed to call his lawyer several times, and his lawyer told the police that he was invoking his right to remain silent, Aleman eventually signed a waiver. The police told Aleman the three doctors told them that a shaking caused Joshua's injury. They were lying. Based on the statements, Aleman "admitted" that he must have shaken the baby too hard and hurt him. At the same time, he continued to express his disbelief that he could have caused the injuries. Aleman was charged with aggravated battery. A few days later, Joshua died. Aleman was rearrested and charged with first-degree murder. The charges were eventually dropped. Doctors explained that a child could go for a few days, usually in a lethargic state, after being shaken but before losing consciousness. The investigation also disclosed that Joshua's mother had a criminal record and had beaten and shaken Joshua in the past. In addition, one of the lead investigators had apparently developed a sexual attraction to Joshua's mother and did what he could to steer the investigation toward Aleman. Aleman brought suit pursuant to § 1983 against several state and local police officers. Judge Bucklo (N.D. Ill.) granted summary judgment to the defendants. Aleman appeals.
In their opinion, Seventh Circuit Judges Cudahy, Posner, and Wood affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part. The Court quickly concluded that the first arrest was supported by probable cause. Aleman was the last person to be with Joshua and admitted shaking him, the doctors believed his injury resulted from being shaken, and the information about Joshua's mother was not yet known. The second arrest was a constitutional violation, however. By that time, one of the officers had already lied to one of the doctors and obstructed the investigation into Joshua’s mother. The police also engaged in improper tactics during their interrogation. The interrogation itself also violated Miranda. Aleman invoked his right to counsel on more than one occasion. The police should have terminated the interrogation until a lawyer was present or until Aleman initiated a conversation. Instead, they badgered him into signing a waiver. Since the statements he made were critical elements of the murder charge, the Miranda violation is actionable under § 1983. In addition to the Miranda violation, the content of the interrogation was also improper. Aleman is not a medical expert but was given (false) information that he must have been the cause of Joshua's injury. The false information distorted his ability to make a rational choice. Finally, with respect to the malicious prosecution under state law, the Court again distinguished between the first and second arrest. Illinois law requires proof of malice in a malicious prosecution action. Given the circumstances of the first arrest, the district court was correct in granting summary judgment to the defendants. With respect to the second arrest, however, a reasonable jury could find that the officer who obstructed justice and tried to protect Joshua's mother, at Aleman’s expense, had improper motives.
In 1997, Dana Holland was convicted of sexually assaulting Dionne Stanley. At Holland's trial, Stanley positively identified Holland. She also described how she met him at a bar the night before and the particulars of the assault. Five years later, a
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It was mid-summer 1999 when Jovan Mosley and three other individuals were standing near the porch of a friend when Howard Thomas walked by. The four of them ran at Thomas. Thomas was beaten to death and the four of them left the area together. All four were arrested and charged with murder. The police took statements from them as well as several eyewitnesses. One eyewitness, Anton Williams, viewed Mosley in a lineup and identified him as a person who was on the scene. The lineup was not documented until 15 months later and the report does not what Williams said about Mosley's particular role in the murder. Another eyewitness, Gregory Reed, implicated all four of the defendants in the beating and specifically identified Mosley as having participated. Reed never testified at trial because he admitted to the prosecutor just before trial that he was quite drunk the night of the incident and had no independent recollection. Mosley remained in jail for over five years until he was tried and acquitted by a jury (see
Swearnigen-El was a black male guard in the women's division at the
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Michael Parish was arrested in May of 2005 and held in custody until June of 2007, when he was acquitted of a murder charge. Parish brought suit against the City of Chicago and several police officers under § 1983, claiming malicious prosecution in violation of the Fourth Amendment. He alleged, among other findings, that the officers suppressed favorable evidence, prepared false reports, and fabricated evidence. Parish conceded in the district court that the prevailing Seventh Circuit precedent of
Maria Avila was already in trouble. Her employer, the Cook County Treasurer's Office, was about to conduct a disciplinary hearing. Avila made it worse when she told one of her coworkers that she might "go postal." Her coworker advised her superiors. They not only added a disciplinary count for the implied threat and fired her but alerted the authorities. Avila was criminally prosecuted. The prosecutor charged a felony, taking the position that one of the targets of Avila's threat was a public official. Avila was acquitted, the court holding that he was not a public official. Avila filed suit against her superiors pursuant to §1983, alleging both constitutional violations and state law malicious prosecution. Although the court dismissed the federal counts, it retained the state law claim under supplemental jurisdiction and resolved it on the merits in favor of the defendants. Avila appeals the judgment on the state law claim.
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