Can police officers be held liable for malicious prosecution (initiating criminal proceedings against a defendant without probable cause), as long as they had probable cause against the defendant for another charge? For example, can a defendant who is charged for first-degree murder based only on a police officer’s fabrication of evidence still bring a malicious prosecution claim if he is also fairly charged with possession of marijuana?
In our amicus brief that we filed with the Cato Institute in support of Petitioners’ writ of certiorari in Chiaverini v. Evanoff, we argue that state actors can and should still be held liable in such cases—what’s known as the “charge-specific rule.” Holding otherwise would (1) bar innocent individuals who are wrongly accused of state crimes from bringing federal civil lawsuits, and (2) incentivize state actors to overcharge criminal defendants.
