Robert Preston Neal, Sr. v. Alleghany County Cir. Ct.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia dismissed without prejudice Robert Preston Neal, Sr.’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action seeking compensation for approximately ten months of pretrial detention. The court held that the Alleghany County Circuit Court was not a proper § 1983 defendant and that Neal had not alleged sufficient facts to support false imprisonment or malicious prosecution claims.

Holdings

1. A circuit court is not a person within the meaning of § 1983 and therefore is not a proper defendant in a damages action under that statute.
2. The complaint did not state a viable malicious-prosecution claim because, aside from favorable termination, Neal failed to allege who initiated or maintained the charges, lack of probable cause, or malice.
3. The complaint did not state a viable false-imprisonment claim because it did not allege facts showing detention without legal process, including whether an arrest warrant existed.
4. A not-guilty finding, standing alone, does not establish that probable cause was lacking.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a Virginia circuit court is a person subject to damages liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
2. Whether the complaint alleged sufficient facts to support a Fourth Amendment malicious-prosecution or false-imprisonment/false-arrest claim under § 1983.
3. Whether the complaint should be dismissed without prejudice at preliminary screening.

Disposition

dismissed