Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Sec. 1983 Case Remanded for Findings on Timeliness

Mondragon v. Thompson, 2008 WL 624434 (3/10/08) (pub'd) - The plaintiff's right to sue based on his detention following the issuance of a forged warrant accrued at the time he was released or due process proceedings began, whichever came first. The Fourth Amendment claim was filed too late if it accrued before the plaintiff's release. The due process claim (essentially malicious prosecution) did not begin to accrue until a favorable termination of the proceedings, in this case when the plaintiff was released, making that claim timely here. The 10th reverses dismissal of the claims and remands for the N.M. district court to address when the claims accrued pursuant to Wallace v. Kato, 127 S. Ct. 1091 (2007).