The Sixth Circuit has upheld the district court’s granting summary judgment to the Brown County Prosecutor in a civil action filed by five upper-level employees of the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources Dept. of Wildlife (Randy Miller, et al. v. Randall Meyer, et al., Case No. 2:14-CV-00101). FHKA successfully represented the Brown County Prosecutor in this Section 1983 and Fourth Amendment action before both the US District Court and Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The original prosecution arose from a wildlife officer who illegally allowed an out-of-state friend to use the officer’s Ohio address in order to obtain an Ohio hunting license at the reduced resident rate. In March 2010, the Ohio Inspector General conducted an investigation, concluding that the wildlife officer’s actions were improper, as were the five ODNR officials when they failed to report the officer’s criminal conduct and otherwise appropriately handle the matter. Following the referral to the Brown County Prosecutor, a grand jury indicted the five ODNR officials on charges of obstructing justice. Yet due to the suppression of the five employees’ statements, the Prosecutor dismissed the charges against them. The ODNR officials proceeded to file a civil action alleging, among other claims, that the Prosecutor manufactured an investigative report and subjected them to malicious prosecution without probable cause.
On March 21, 2016, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s granting summary judgment. The Court held that the Brown County Prosecutor was entitled to absolute prosecutorial immunity, as she demonstrated she did not fabricate evidence nor offer false evidence to the grand jury. Importantly, the five Plaintiffs failed to offer any proof of the evidence that the Prosecutor submitted to the grand jury was false or fabricated. The indictment itself was sufficient to establish probable cause and supported the Prosecutor’s determination to move forward with the charges.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, feel free to contact FHKA attorneys Dan Downey (ddowney@fishelhass.com) or Frank Hatfield (fhatfield@fishelhass.com).