Colbert v. City of Chicago

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Section 1983 Action
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 16-1362
Decision Date: 
March 14, 2017
Federal District: 
N.D. Ill., E. Div.
Holding: 
Affirmed

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendants-police officials’ motion for summary judgment in plaintiffs’ section 1983 action alleging either that they were subjected to malicious prosecution on gun possession charges, that they were victims of false arrest or that defendants had violated their 4th Amendment rights arising out of search of their home. Plaintiff could not prevail on malicious prosecution claim against defendant-police officer since: (1) criminal indictment on instant gun charges severed any causal connection between prosecution and defendant’s conduct; and (2) record failed to link any of defendant’s actions to indictment process. Moreover, plaintiff could not prevail on his 4th Amendment claim alleging that certain defendants conducted search of his home that caused unreasonable property damage, where plaintiff was unable to identify which defendants had actually caused said damage. Ct. rejected plaintiff’s suggestion that all defendants should have been required to show that they did not cause any damage to his property. (Partial dissent filed.)