Summary
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of qualified immunity to San Francisco police inspectors in Joaquin Ciria’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims for fabrication of evidence and malicious prosecution. The court held that, viewing the facts in Ciria’s favor, a reasonable jury could find that the inspectors used coercive tactics to elicit a fabricated statement and lacked probable cause to charge him with murder, and that the relevant constitutional rights were clearly established in 1990. Judge Miller dissented, concluding that the rights were not clearly established at the time.
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Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether, accepting the district court's assumed facts, a reasonable jury could find that Inspectors Crowley and Gerrans deliberately fabricated evidence against Ciria through coercive interrogation tactics.
- Whether the due process right not to be charged on the basis of deliberately fabricated evidence was clearly established in 1990 such that the inspectors were not entitled to qualified immunity.
- Whether, considering the totality of the circumstances known to the inspectors, a reasonable jury could find that they lacked probable cause to charge Ciria with murder.
- Whether it was reasonably arguable that probable cause existed, such that the inspectors were entitled to qualified immunity on the malicious-prosecution claim.
Holdings
- The court had interlocutory jurisdiction to review the purely legal application of clearly established law to the facts assumed by the district court, but it lacked jurisdiction to reconsider the evidentiary sufficiency and factual disputes underlying those assumed facts.
- On the facts assumed by the district court, a reasonable jury could find that the inspectors deliberately fabricated evidence by threatening Varela with an adult murder charge and feeding him a story that implicated Ciria, while knowing or reasonably being expected to know that Varela was adopting a false account. The inspectors were not entitled to qualified immunity because, in 1990, it was clearly established that a person could not be subjected to criminal charges based on deliberately fabricated government evidence and that coercive tactics could not be used to obtain such evidence.
- A reasonable jury could find that the inspectors lacked probable cause to arrest and charge Ciria with murder, and it was not reasonably arguable that probable cause existed. The inspectors therefore were not entitled to qualified immunity on the malicious-prosecution claim.
Key quotations
“We hold that a reasonable jury could find that Defendants used coercive and abusive tactics to elicit a fabricated statement against Ciria and that in 1990, it was clearly established that doing so would violate Ciria’s constitutional rights.” (6)
“A reasonable jury could also find that the inspectors fabricated evidence against Ciria by using interrogation tactics including threatening Varela with an adult murder charge and offering him a story that exculpated him to get him to name Ciria as the shooter.” (38)
“Considering all of the surrounding circumstances, it is not reasonably arguable that the officers had probable cause to arrest Ciria.” (52)
“AFFIRMED. Defendants shall bear all costs on appeal.” (52)
Factual background
Joaquin Ciria was convicted of murdering Felix Bastarrica in 1991 and spent thirty-two years in prison before his conviction was vacated after an Innocence Commission concluded that he was factually innocent. During the 1990 investigation, Inspectors Arthur Gerrans and James Crowley allegedly threatened eighteen-year-old witness George Varela with an adult murder charge and supplied him with a story that implicated Ciria while insulating Varela from liability. The inspectors then relied principally on Varela's statement, despite weak and inconsistent eyewitness descriptions, failed identifications, rumors, an unverified alibi, and the absence of physical evidence connecting Ciria to the murder.
Procedural history
Ciria sued San Francisco police inspectors, the City and County of San Francisco, the police department, and another officer under § 1983 and state law after his murder conviction was vacated and the charges were dismissed. The district court granted summary judgment to some defendants and on some claims, but denied Inspectors Crowley and Gerrans qualified immunity on the fabrication-of-evidence and malicious-prosecution claims. Crowley and Gerrans brought an interlocutory appeal, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed.