Court Declines To Revisit Newsome Malicious Prosecution Holding
PARISH v. CHICAGO (February 3, 2010)
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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 Newsome precluded his claim. The district court dismissed. Parish appeals
In their opinion, Judges Coffey, Evans, and Williams affirmed. In Newsome, the Seventh Circuit held that the existence of a state law malicious prosecution claim precludes a constitutional tort under the due process clause. Parish concedes as much but seeks reconsideration of Newsome in light of a footnote in the Supreme Court's subsequent opinion in Wallace. In that footnote, the Supreme Court stated that it had never and was not evaluating a §1983 Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution claim. The Court noted that it had already once rejected an invitation to revisit Newsome in Johnson v. Saville. It saw no reason to do so now. However, as an aside, the Court stated that Newsome did not preclude a Brady-type due process claim. Given Parish's allegations, he may well have had such a claim after his acquittal.
Brian Ketelboeter was a truck driver. He claims that he was injured in 1995, although he continued working until 2003. During those eight years, he complained of several additional injuries and increasing pain. Many physicians examined Ketelboeter over those years. Most tests showed no physical problems, at least none consistent with the degree of pain Ketelboeter claimed to experience. Dr. Dickson began treating Ketelboeter in 2002. Dickson treated his pain with muscle relaxants and therapy. Dickson reported that Ketelboeter’s pain was not consistent with the objective physical findings. Ketelboeter stopped working in June of 2003 and applied for disability in September. A hearing was held in April of 2005. The record contained the medical conclusions of Dickson and a state medical expert who reviewed Ketelboeter’s records. A vocational expert opined that, although Ketelboeter could no longer perform his truck driving job, he could perform other jobs. The vocational expert relied on the testimony of the medical expert in reaching his conclusion. He admitted that Dickson’s testimony would support an opinion that Ketelboeter would not be able to perform any job. The ALJ denied Ketelboeter’s claim. The ALJ granted Ketelboeter a second hearing based on additional testimony from Dickson. Again, a state-agency expert testified. He testified that there was little objective evidence of Ketelboeter’s pain. The vocational expert identified several additional jobs that Ketelboeter could perform. Again, the ALJ denied Ketelboeter’s claim. The ALJ placed more weight on the testimony of non-treating experts than Ketelboeter’s treating physician. He did so because of the lack of objective evidence of pain and Dickson’s own conclusions that Ketelboeter’s reports of pain were not supported by physical findings. Ketelboeter appeals.