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Setback for Durham?

By K.C. Johnson

The dragging out of the civil suit briefing process?caused largely by Mike Nifong?s ultimately unsuccessful attempts to use bankruptcy proceedings to get out of the civil suit?has resulted in some bad luck for Durham.On Wednesday, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling that could weaken the Durham defendants? efforts to use a claim of qualified immunity to avoid liability. Given that this claim formed a central element of Durham?s pleadings, the setback could be a formidable one indeed.The Wednesday decision, Pearson v. Callahan, arose out of a Utah case involving a warrantless search. The victim of the search filed suit under §1983 (as the lacrosse players have done). The circuit court allowed the lawsuit to go forward. But the Supreme Court overturned decision, and instead held that the police officers in the Utah case were entitled to qualified immunity for their actions...continue to full post

Full post as published by Durham-in-Wonderland on January 23, 2009 (boomark / email).