Civil rights appeal arising from 15-year criminal process is dismissed on technical grounds

This is a wild case. The police investigated a woman's disappearance and her husband was a key suspect, but for the longest time, they could not really find evidence linking to her disappearance and possible murder, so the investigation lasted several years before the husband was convicted of murder in part based on blood-spatter evidence. The husband was granted a second trial when evidence surfaced implicated someone else in the murder, but the husband was again found guilty. That conviction was later thrown out, and a third trial yielded a hung jury. At the fourth trial, the husband was acquitted. This whole process took 15 years.

The case is Harris v. Tioga County, a summary order issued on September 13. Harris is the husband. After a sequence of events like this one (four trials and an acquittal), you know there is going to be a lawsuit. 

This case generated much publicity, and there is a Wikipedia page about the wife's disappearance, which happened on September 11, 2001. Harris sued county officials for malicious prosecution and other constitutional violations. Following motion practice, a whole bunch of defendants were forced to stand trial in federal court on these charges. Those defendants take up this appeal, claiming entitlement to qualified and absolute immunity.

Public officials can invoke these immunities under judge-made doctrines intended to allow them to make decisions without fear of being sued by everyone unless they violate well-settled legal standards. If the trial judge denies the immunity motion, the defendant can take an early appeal to the Second Circuit, but only if they the appeal turns on an issue of law and not disputed facts.The Second Circuit adheres to this strict rule, which is why so many qualified immunity appeals are dismissed without any determination on the merits.

The appeal is dismissed because the Court of Appeals (Chin, Carney and Sullivan) is not ready to take up these immunity issues. There are too many factual disputes on the issues raised on appeal, which means the jury has to sort them out before the court can decide if, on the facts found by the jury, the defendants are still immune from liability.