Opinion

Walker v. Stroman

Court
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Filed
Jun 9, 2022
Status
Unpublished
Nature of suit
Civil Rights
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 8.7%

The opinion

Case: 20-50602 Document: 00516350984 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/09/2022

United States Court of Appeals

for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

June 9, 2022

No. 20-50602

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

Steven Walker,

Plaintiff—Appellant,

versus

Chief Brent Stroman, in his individual capacity;

Detective Manuel Chavez, in his individual capacity;

Sheriff Parnell McNamara, in his individual capacity;

Abelino “Abel” Reyna, District Attorney of McLennan

County, in his individual capacity; John Doe, employee

of the Texas Department of Public Safety; John Doe,

M.D., employee or possible contractor for McLennan

County Sheriff’s Office,

Defendants—Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Western District of Texas

USDC No. 1:17-CV-372

Case: 20-50602 Document: 00516350984 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/09/2022

No. 20-50602

Before Jones, Stewart, and Duncan, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam:*

Steven Walker filed this civil rights lawsuit against various law

enforcement officers, asserting claims for Fourth Amendment false arrest,

among others. The district court dismissed Walker’s claims. For the reasons

that follow, we AFFIRM in part and REVERSE in part, and we

REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. Facts & Procedural History

This case is one of many arising out of the infamous Twin Peaks

shootout, a gruesome event that occurred on May 17, 2015, in Waco, Texas.

The shootout resulted from a conflict between two warring motorcycle clubs,

the Bandidos and the Cossacks, attending a motorcycle rally at the Twin

Peaks restaurant. Gunfire erupted, and when the dust settled, nine people

were dead and many others were injured. In response to the melee, police

officers conducted a mass arrest of the motorcyclists who attended the rally.

Of the 177 arrests made, none led to convictions.1

The mass arrest led to the mass filing of civil rights lawsuits

challenging those arrests. This court has had several occasions to consider

those cases on appeal, starting with Terwilliger v. Reyna, 4 F.4th 270 (5th Cir.

2021). More recently, this court resolved a related set of appeals concerning

the Twin Peaks shootout in Wilson v. Stroman, 33 F.4th 202 (5th Cir. 2022),

and Redding v. Swanton, No. 20-50769, 2022 WL 1283931 (5th Cir. Apr. 29,

2022) (unpublished).

*

Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this

opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited

circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.

1

For additional background on the Twin Peaks shootout, see Terwilliger v. Reyna,

4 F.4th 270, 277–79 (5th Cir. 2021).

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Like Walker, the plaintiffs in those cases were all motorcyclists who

attended the rally at Twin Peaks and who “were eventually arrested

following the shootout for Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity

(‘EIOCA’), in violation of Texas Penal Code § 71.02.” Wilson, 33 F.4th at

205. Also like Walker, they were all arrested pursuant to a boilerplate warrant

affidavit, subsequently issued by a magistrate judge, that “was identical in

every respect” save for the individual arrestees’ names. Id. The Terwilliger

plaintiffs were never indicted for EIOCA following their arrests. See id.

Neither was Walker. In contrast, the Wilson and Redding plaintiffs were

subsequently indicted. Id.; Redding, 2022 WL 1283931, at *1. All these

plaintiffs, including Walker, eventually filed “individual § 1983 actions

asserting similar false arrest claims, which are premised on alleged defects in

the form affidavit used to secure the arrest warrants.” Wilson, 33 F.4th at

205.

Walker specifically pleaded claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for

Fourth Amendment false arrest, substantive due process violations under the

Fourteenth Amendment, conspiracy, and municipal liability. He named

several city and county officials as defendants. The city officials were Brent

Stroman, the Waco Police Department’s Chief of Police, and Manuel

Chavez, a Waco police officer. The county officials were Sheriff Parnell

McNamara, District Attorney Abelino “Abel” Reyna, and two John Doe

defendants. The defendants moved to dismiss, asserting qualified immunity.

Reyna additionally asserted absolute prosecutorial immunity. The district

court granted the defendants’ motions to dismiss and entered final judgment.

Walker timely appealed.

II. Standard of Review

“We review a district court’s ruling on a motion to dismiss de novo,

accepting all well-pleaded facts as true and viewing those facts in the light

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most favorable to the plaintiffs.” Dyer v. Houston, 964 F.3d 374, 379 (5th Cir.

2020) (quoting Anderson v. Valdez, 845 F.3d 580, 589 (5th Cir. 2016)). “To

survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual

matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its

face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v.

Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). “A claim has facial plausibility when the

plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable

inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id.

When a motion to dismiss asserts qualified immunity, “[t]he crucial

question is ‘whether the complaint pleads facts that, if true, would permit the

inference that Defendants are liable under § 1983 . . . and would overcome

their qualified immunity defense.’” Terwilliger, 4 F.4th at 280 (quoting

Hinojosa v. Livingston, 807 F.3d 657, 664 (5th Cir. 2015)). The plaintiff bears

the burden of showing that qualified immunity is inappropriate. Id. “To

discharge this burden, plaintiffs must successfully allege that the defendants

‘violated a statutory or constitutional right, and . . . that the right was “clearly

established” at the time of the challenged conduct.’” Id. at 284

(quoting Morgan v. Swanson, 659 F.3d 359, 370 (5th Cir. 2011)).

III. Discussion

On appeal, Walker only presses his claims for Fourth Amendment

false arrest against Chavez and Reyna; he concedes that the district court

properly dismissed his other claims. His Fourth Amendment claim closely

tracks the claims brought in Terwilliger. There, as here, the plaintiffs took

“aim at the form warrant affidavit,” alleging “that defects in that affidavit

led to them being arrested without particularized probable cause.” Wilson, 33

F.4th at 206 (citing Terwilliger, 4 F.4th at 279). They, like Walker, alleged

two distinct types of Fourth Amendment false arrest claims: (1) that the

“affidavit facially failed to establish probable cause” under Malley v. Briggs,

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475 U.S. 335 (1986); and (2) that “intentional or reckless false statements in

the affidavit resulted in a warrant lacking probable cause” under Franks v.

Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978). Terwilliger, 4 F.4th at 279.

Walker complains that although he pleaded the same claims against

the same defendants as the Terwilliger plaintiffs, their claims survived

dismissal whereas his did not. Specifically, the district court in Terwilliger

declined to dismiss the plaintiffs’ Franks claim. 4 F.4th at 279. This court

affirmed that part of the district court’s judgment, agreeing that the plaintiffs

“state[d] a plausible Franks claim against” Chavez and Reyna. Id. at 285.

Walker asserts that because his Fourth Amendment claim is materially

identical to the Terwilliger plaintiffs’ claim, the district court erred in

reaching a different result here. The defendants respond that, unlike the

Terwilliger plaintiffs, Walker alleged only conclusory allegations that are

insufficient to state a claim or overcome qualified immunity. Separately,

Reyna reasserts prosecutorial immunity. He also says that Walker lacks

standing to pursue a Fourth Amendment claim against him and that Walker

waived the Fourth Amendment claim. We address these arguments below.

A. Standing

We start with Reyna’s standing argument. This court has subject-

matter jurisdiction only over “Cases” and “Controversies.” U.S. Const.

art. III, § 2. This requires that a plaintiff have standing, meaning that the

plaintiff must establish “(1) that he or she suffered an injury in fact that is

concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent, (2) that the injury was

caused by the defendant, and (3) that the injury would likely be redressed by

the requested judicial relief.” Thole v. U.S. Bank N.A., ___ U.S. ____, 140

S. Ct. 1615, 1618 (2020). In other words, the plaintiff must show “personal

injury fairly traceable to the defendant’s allegedly unlawful conduct and

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likely to be redressed by the requested relief.” DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno,

547 U.S. 332, 342 (2006).

Reyna argues that Walker lacks standing to pursue a Fourth

Amendment claim against him because he did not cause Walker’s alleged

injury. For support, he exclusively relies on Daves v. Dallas County, 22 F.4th

522 (5th Cir. 2022) (en banc), which considered the promulgation of bail

schedules in Texas.. The plaintiffs in Daves were indigent pretrial detainees

while the relevant defendants were state district, county, and magistrate

judges. Id. at 529. Allegedly, the defendants unconstitutionally imposed

secured money bail on the plaintiffs without providing “procedural

safeguards or substantive findings that” money bail was necessary. Id. at 528.

The en banc court held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue the district

and county judges because they did not cause the plaintiffs’ injuries. Id. at

543–44. It emphasized that although the district and county judges

promulgated the bail schedules, they did not make them binding on the

magistrate judges who applied them. Id. at 543. Accordingly, the magistrate

judges retained discretion in applying the bail schedules, meaning that the

plaintiffs could only trace their injuries to the magistrate judges. Id. at 543–

44.

Reyna contends that he is similarly situated to the district and county

judges who promulgated the bail schedules in Daves. He acknowledges that

he “provided criteria for law enforcement personnel to apply to determine

whether probable cause existed.” But he argues that he did not cause

Walker’s arrest, which he frames as an unpredictable misapplication of the

criteria he provided by independent, third-party law enforcement officers.

Walker’s allegations thwart this argument. Reyna allegedly told officers that

probable cause existed to arrest all individuals who were present at Twin

Peaks and wearing gear reflecting support for the Bandidos or Cossacks. He

did so despite knowing that these criteria were overinclusive. As explained

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below, this court has already determined that similar “allegations are

sufficient to tie him to potential Franks liability.” Terwilliger, 4 F.4th at 284.

Walker thus has standing to sue Reyna notwithstanding Daves.2

B. Waiver

Next, we dispense with Reyna’s argument that Walker waived his

Franks-based Fourth Amendment claim by failing to sufficiently brief it

below. Reyna contends, as he did before the district court, that Walker did

not respond to his argument that Walker inadequately pleaded a Franks

claim. The district court seemingly agreed, observing that Walker “did not

even try to defend his allegation[s] [regarding the Franks claim] in his

response to Defendants’ motion to dismiss.” Accordingly, Reyna argues that

Walker did not preserve his Franks claim. For his part, Walker contends that

the district court erroneously dismissed his Franks claim because it

concluded that he failed to adequately respond to the motion to dismiss.

As an initial matter, the district court did not dismiss Walker’s Franks

claim based on waiver. To be sure, the district court found Walker’s briefing

on the issue to be wanting. But the district court dismissed his Franks claim

because it concluded that his “[c]omplaint only pleads conclusions,” not

because he waived the claim. Walker’s argument otherwise is speculative at

best. Moreover, even if the district court had dismissed this claim on waiver

grounds, that would not preclude this court from reviewing the sufficiency of

Walker’s complaint. Even where a party “ha[s] not briefed [an] issue at

all, Rule 12 does not by its terms require an opposition; failure to oppose a

2

What is more, this court decided Wilson, 33 F.4th 202, and Redding, 2022 WL

1283931, several months after it decided Daves. Reyna was a named defendant in both cases,

but neither considered the possibility that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue him.

Although we must independently confirm our jurisdiction, the failure of Wilson and Redding

to address Daves underscores that the case has little relevance here.

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12(b)(6) motion is not in itself grounds for granting” a motion to dismiss.

Servicios Azucareros de Venez., C.A. v. John Deere Thibodeaux, Inc., 702 F.3d

794, 806 (5th Cir. 2012). Instead, “a court assesses the legal sufficiency of

the complaint.” Id. (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)). A district court thus

abuses its discretion when it dismisses a complaint “as a penalty for [a

plaintiff’s] perceived failure to properly brief its opposition to” a motion to

dismiss. Id. Accordingly, Walker’s admittedly terse response to Reyna’s

motion to dismiss did not waive his Franks claim.3

C. Merits

We now turn to the merits of this appeal. Walker argues that the

district court’s dismissal of his Franks claim contradicts this court’s analysis

in Terwilliger, where plaintiffs pleaded essentially the same claim against the

same defendants. Comparing his allegations “point-by-point” against those

deemed sufficient in Terwilliger, Walker insists that he sufficiently pleaded a

3

Similarly, we disagree with Reyna’s assertion that Walker has improperly raised

arguments for the first time on appeal. The arguments in question concern Terwilliger,

4 F.4th 270, which this court decided a year after the district court dismissed Walker’s

complaint and Walker appealed. Because Walker’s arguments were unavailable before this

court decided Terwilliger, he has not waived them. Nor did Walker broadly waive all other

arguments supporting his Franks claim, as Reyna suggests. Although Walker did not

vigorously defend this claim below, the issue was certainly “raised to such a degree that the

trial court may rule on it,” as the district court did here. HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v. Crum,

907 F.3d 199, 207 (5th Cir. 2018) (quotation omitted). Walker therefore preserved this

issue.

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Franks claim. The defendants counter that Walker’s allegations are

conclusory and that they are entitled to qualified immunity.4

“Liability under Franks can arise from either material misstatements

or material omissions in warrant affidavits.” Terwilliger, 4 F.4th at 281.

Franks is as an exception to the independent intermediary doctrine. Wilson,

33 F.4th at 208 (collecting cases). That doctrine provides that “if facts

supporting an arrest are placed before an independent intermediary such as

a magistrate or grand jury, the intermediary’s decision breaks the chain of

causation for false arrest, insulating the initiating party.” McLin v. Ard, 866

F.3d 682, 689 (5th Cir. 2017) (quoting Deville v. Marcantel, 567 F.3d 156, 170

(5th Cir. 2009)).

But “the initiating party may be liable for false arrest if the plaintiff

shows that ‘the deliberations of that intermediary were in some

way tainted by the actions of the defendant.’” Wilson, 33 F.4th at 208

(emphasis in original) (quoting Deville, 567 F.3d at 170). In other words, the

causal chain remains unbroken if the initiating officer “deliberately or

recklessly provides false, material information for use in an affidavit” or

“makes knowing and intentional omissions that result in a warrant being

issued without probable cause.” Anokwuru v. City of Houston, 990 F.3d 956,

964 (5th Cir. 2021) (quoting Melton v. Phillips, 875 F.3d 256, 264 (5th Cir.

4

Reyna also asserts that, as a prosecutor, he is entitled to absolute immunity. But

Terwilliger foreclosed this argument. There, this court observed that because Reyna “was

allegedly ‘[c]reating or manufacturing new facts,’” his actions were distinguishable from

“those of an advocate supplying legal advice.” Terwilliger, 4. F.4th at 281 (quoting Spivey

v. Robertson, 197 F.3d 772, 776 (5th Cir. 1999)). The Terwilliger plaintiffs alleged that Reyna

actively investigated the shooting, received continuous updates regarding the investigation,

and had access to exculpatory video and interview evidence but nonetheless authorized a

mass arrest. Id. Based on these allegations, this court concluded that “Reyna’s immunity

is limited to that of a law enforcement officer.” Id. Walker alleged the same material facts,

so we similarly conclude that Reyna is not entitled to absolute immunity.

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2017) (en banc)). “To determine whether facts omitted from a warrant

affidavit are material to the determination of probable cause, courts ordinarily

insert the omitted facts into the affidavit and ask whether the reconstructed

affidavit would still support a finding of probable cause.” Loftin v. City of

Prentiss, ___ F.4th ____, 2022 WL 1498876, at *5 (5th Cir. May 12, 2022)

(quoting Kohler v. Englade, 470 F.3d 1104, 1113 (5th Cir. 2006)).

Terwilliger “sets the lay of the land for analyzing . . . false arrest

claims” arising from the Twin Peaks shootout and subsequent mass arrest.

Wilson, 33 F.4th at 207. First, Terwilliger reads the challenged affidavit “as

(1) generally alleging that members of the Bandidos and Cossacks engaged in

violent activity at the Twin Peaks that amounted to EIOCA, and (2) linking

each specific subject of the warrant to that general set of probable cause-

establishing facts, thus creating particularized probable cause to arrest each

subject.”5 Id. (citing Terwilliger, 4 F.4th at 282–83). Second, Terwilliger held

that the plaintiffs there “successfully pleaded Franks claims by plausibly

alleging” that:

(1) they were not associated with the Bandidos or Cossacks and

that they had nothing to do with the violent activity that is

described in the affidavit and (2) certain defendants recklessly

or knowingly caused it to be stated otherwise in the affidavit

(i.e., a material misstatement) and/or excluded from the

5

Accordingly, Walker cannot prevail on his Malley-based Fourth Amendment

claim. “The Malley wrong is not the presentment of false evidence, but the obvious failure

of accurately presented evidence to support the probable cause required for the issuance of

a warrant.” Melton v. Phillips, 875 F.3d 256, 264 (5th Cir. 2017) (en banc). An officer avoids

Malley liability “if he presents a warrant affidavit that facially supplies probable cause to

arrest the subject of the warrant.” Wilson, 33 F.4th at 206. The district court dismissed

Walker’s Malley claim, concluding that the challenged affidavit did not facially lack

probable cause. Because Terwilliger construed the challenged affidavit as “creating

particularized probable cause to arrest each subject,” we agree that Walker’s Malley claim

fails. Id. at 207 (citing Terwilliger, 4 F.4th at 282–83).

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affidavit information in their possession that would have

materially undermined the aforementioned particularized

probable cause (i.e., a material omission).

Id. (citing Terwilliger, 4 F.4th at 282–83). Thus, to establish a Franks

violation, Walker must have plausibly alleged that he was not involved with

the Bandidos, the Cossacks, or the violence at Twin Peaks and that the

defendants recklessly or knowingly caused his false arrest by either including

material misstatements in the affidavit or excluding material exculpatory

information from the affidavit. See id.

Like the Terwilliger plaintiffs, Walker (1) “den[ies] affiliation with the

Bandidos or Cossacks, and any involvement with or membership in a

‘criminal street gang’”; (2) alleges that his behavior and any motorcycle-

related gear he wore on the day of the shootout was lawful; and (3) alleges

that the defendants “deliberately excluded” exculpatory information “such

as video evidence, witness interviews, and membership in motorcycle clubs

known to be independent and not affiliated with the Bandidos or Cossacks.”

Terwilliger, 4 F.4th at 282–83 (footnote omitted). Therefore, as in Terwilliger,

“the remaining particularized facts in the affidavit are that ‘[a]fter the

altercation, the subject was apprehended at the scene, while wearing

common identifying distinct signs or symbols.’” Id. at 283. Accepting

Walker’s allegations as true and viewing them in his favor, this “corrected

affidavit” does not establish probable cause for arresting Walker on an

EIOCA charge. See id.

To avoid this conclusion, Chavez argues that Walker defeated his own

Franks claim by alleging that the defendants “arbitrarily decided” whether

Walker’s clothing demonstrated “support” for the Bandidos or Cossacks.

Chavez asserts that the Terwilliger plaintiffs did not plead these allegations in

their complaint and that the “allegations affirmatively defeat the necessary

mens rea element of a viable Franks claim.” But reading Walker’s complaint

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in the light most favorable to him, these allegations are consistent with his

contention that the defendants submitted false information in reckless

disregard of exculpatory evidence. Further, Chavez does not provide any

authority to support his argument. In any event, the plaintiffs in Terwilliger

did in fact plead similar allegations, as Walker points out. Chavez’s argument

is thus unavailing.

Reyna separately argues that Walker failed to allege facts establishing

his individual liability under Franks. For Franks liability to attach to an

officer, the officer “must have assisted in the preparation of, or otherwise

presented or signed a warrant application.” Melton, 875 F.3d at 263. “If an

officer does not present or sign the affidavit, liability attaches only if ‘he

helped prepare the complaint by providing information for use in

it.’” Terwilliger, 4 F.4th at 283 (quoting Melton, 875 F.3d at 263).

Because Reyna did not sign or swear to the challenged affidavit, he is

liable under Franks only “if he provided material information for use in the

affidavit.”6 Id. at 284. In Terwilliger, this court held that the plaintiffs’

allegations were sufficient for Franks liability to attach to Reyna. Id. The

plaintiffs pleaded that Reyna, notwithstanding contrary evidence, ordered a

mass arrest for EIOCA, thereby “generat[ing] the basic facts set out in the

probable cause affidavit.” Id. Allegedly, Reyna “knew the exact wording of

the affidavit” and “knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that, based on the

exculpatory evidence he had learned, probable cause did not exist to arrest

some individuals potentially fitting the warrant’s criteria.” Id. Likewise,

Walker alleged that Reyna “knew the exact wording of the probable cause

affidavit,” was “involved in every aspect of the investigation,” and

6

In contrast, Chavez “is within the compass of potential Franks liability because

he signed the warrant affidavit and swore to the validity of the facts included in it.”

Terwilliger, 4 F.4th at 283.

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knowingly or recklessly disregarded exculpatory evidence. For this reason,

Reyna cannot escape Franks liability.7

To close, Walker sufficiently pleaded a Franks claim against Chavez

and Reyna for essentially the same reasons stated in Terwilliger. It has long

“been clearly established that a defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights are

violated if (1) the affiant, in support of the warrant, includes ‘a false statement

knowingly and intentionally, or with reckless disregard for the truth’ and

(2) ‘the allegedly false statement is necessary to the finding of probable

cause.’” Winfrey v. Rogers, 901 F.3d 483, 494 (5th Cir. 2018) (quoting Franks,

438 U.S. at 155–56). Accordingly, we conclude that the defendants are not

entitled to qualified immunity for violating Walker’s Fourth Amendment

rights and that the district court erred when it dismissed this claim.

IV. Conclusion

For the foregoing reasons, the district court’s judgment that Chavez

and Reyna are not subject to potential Franks liability is REVERSED, and

7

Reyna additionally argues that he is not subject to § 1983 liability because he was

not legally authorized to direct Chavez to arrest Walker and thus did not act under color of

state law. See Doe v. Rains Cnty. Indep. Sch. Dist., 66 F.3d 1402, 1416 (5th Cir. 1995)). We

disagree. For starters, Reyna waived this argument by not raising it below despite having

the opportunity to do so. Sindhi v. Raina, 905 F.3d 327, 333 (5th Cir. 2018).

Further, this argument would fail even if it were preserved. This case does not

involve an attempt to hold a third party liable for the conduct of an “immediate

perpetrator.” Doe, 66 F.3d at 1407. Rather, Walker’s claim against Reyna is for Reyna’s

alleged independent actions: contributing false or incomplete information to the affidavit

that led to Walker’s arrest. An officer acted under color of law for § 1983 purposes if he

“misused or abused his official power” and “there is a nexus between the victim, the

improper conduct, and the officer’s performance of official duties.” Gomez v. Galman, 18

F.4th 769, 776 (5th Cir. 2021) (per curiam) (quoting Bustos v. Martini Club, Inc., 599 F.3d

458, 464–65 (5th Cir. 2010)). Viewing Walker’s complaint in the light most favorable to

him, Reyna acted under color of state law when he used his authority as the District

Attorney to involve himself in the investigation and contribute to the warrant affidavit.

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its judgment that they are not subject to potential Malley liability is

AFFIRMED. This case is REMANDED for further proceedings

consistent with this opinion.

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This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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