2d Circuit clarifies test for federal malicious prosecution claims

The Court of Appeals has clarified the standard for malicious prosecution claims under Section 1983. The Court says the plaintiff cannot win unless he can show the underlying criminal case against him ended in a manner that affirmatively indicates his innocence. This standard is more strict than the test for state-law malicious prosecution claims.

The case is Lanning v. City of Glens Falls, decided on November 7. The case originates from a domestic dispute. Plaintiff was arrested for criminal contempt after his estranged wife falsely reported that he threatened to kill her. Following his indictment on various charges, the town court dismissed the charges during the jury trial, for reasons that are not clear to the Second Circuit.

You can bring a malicious prosecution claim under state or federal law. Plaintiffs usually like to bring these actions under federal law, which provides for more damages and attorneys' fees. State law claims are often brought in state courts that are not as familiar with civil rights as federal courts.

Under state law, the plaintiff must show the charges were dismissed in a manner that is not inconsistent with the plaintiff's innocence. That standard is not precise. The problem is that federal rulings have said that claims for malicious prosecution are "substantially the same" under state and federal law. That formulation, too, is not precise. As prior cases under federal law have not been clear on this issue, the Court of Appeals tries to straighten it all out.

Here is the bottom line. Bearing in mind Supreme Court authority that says common law principles (such as those under state law) are meant to guide rather than control Section 1983 claims, the Second Circuit does not formally adopt the more plaintiff-friendly standard for malicious prosecution claims. Instead the Court (Kearse, Cabranes and Lohier) says the plaintiff cannot win unless he shows the criminal proceeding affirmatively indicates the plaintiff's innocence. If the question of guilty or innocence remain unanswered, then the plaintiff has no federal malicious prosecution claim.

For plaintiff, this means the malicious prosecution cannot proceed any further. The charges against him were dismissed "in the interests of justice," a common formulation in the local courts. That means the plaintiff was able to walk away from criminal court a free man, but it does not tell us about his innocence. "Interests of justice" is too vague.