Court Rejects Qualified Immunity for Detectives Accused of Fabricating Evidence in 1978 Murder Case

In 2008, Lee Evans was charged with the disappearance and murder of five boys in 1978 based on an allegedly coerced confession of one man. A jury acquitted Evans of all charges, and he then brought claims for malicious prosecution. The complaint alleged fabrication of evidence in regard to a false confession. 

The District Court denied the police detectives’ motion for summary judgment, holding that manufacturing of evidence to create probable cause was unconstitutional and did not protect state actors under the theory of qualified immunity in malicious prosecution cases. 
 

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