OR · 42usc1983:x-malicious-prosecution
Under Thompson v. Clark (596 U.S. 36 (2022)), a Fourth Amendment malicious-prosecution claim under § 1983 requires showing that the criminal prosecution ended without a conviction.
Exact element source
to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and lawsSource:
docroot/ir/usc/title42.jsonl#title42_sec1983; Unicode character offsets [306:402] (end exclusive); SHA-256 88fe01322b9d94860a669ec452f558146e2745845070bc43583671ce12acb2bb.Routes and case patterns
| Route | Definition | Merits instance blocks | Distinct merits cases | Examples (up to 3 cases per count group) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unclassified route provisional; provisional (1 case) | no definition yet | 0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1 | 0 | Used only in non-merits blocks (1). Excluded context examples:Galloway v. County of Nassau — 141 F.4th 417 (2025) · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 2025 — not reached · basis not recorded (42usc1983: author: Fable · historical QA: PASS (QA2, neov2/qa/cases-QA2.md) · changed after review; current content not independently reviewed) · applied/procedural · not counted |
| _whole accepted; provisional (1 case) | The element is decided as a whole: the reasoning turns on no narrower doctrinal sub-question that distinguishes it from any other application of this element. | 1 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 1; excluded context 0 | 1 | Codrington v. Dolak — 142 F.4th 884 (2025) · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2025 — not · no-evidence (42usc1983: author: Flash1 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) · applied/merits · counted |
How courts decided this element
| Case | Element | Holding and scope | Pattern | Exact source quotations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galloway v. County of Nassau — 141 F.4th 417 (2025) · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 2025 — not reached (42usc1983: author: Fable · historical QA: PASS (QA2, neov2/qa/cases-QA2.md) · changed after review; current content not independently reviewed) | Section 1983 malicious prosecution claim (Fourth Amendment / procedural due process) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / procedural count: malicious-prosecution claims (1983 vs. detectives; state-law vs. County); subject: count=malicious-prosecution claims (1983 vs. detectives; state-law vs. County) Qualified immunity on the malicious-prosecution claim abandoned for want of briefing (dissent would reach it and grant immunity on arguable probable cause). County's appeal on state-law malicious prosecution dismissed: no municipal qualified immunity under New York law, so no pendent appellate jurisdiction. | Unspecified route | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| Codrington v. Dolak — 142 F.4th 884 (2025) · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2025 — not · no-evidence (42usc1983: author: Flash1 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) | Section 1983 malicious prosecution claim (Fourth Amendment / procedural due process) | not Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: no-evidence; party: Officers Dolak, Blissett and Kirk (Louisville Metro Police Department); count: malicious-prosecution claim; subject: party=Officers Dolak, Blissett and Kirk (Louisville Metro Police Department); count=malicious-prosecution claim The claim fails on the lack-of-probable-cause element alone. The court also holds, joining other circuits, that the exclusionary rule and fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree doctrine do not apply in § 1983 cases, so illegally seized evidence may establish probable cause. | undisputed, non-fabricated marijuana, grinder and firearm found in the car supplied probable cause even though the search had been held illegal | And although Codrington admitted that the little baggie of marijuana came from his car, he testified that the bigger bag was not his.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f4th_142.jsonl#/f4th/142/884; Unicode character offsets [21246:21379] (end exclusive); SHA-256 997b387c2c89f1d2c34461257739053b3dcd8941cb6ef00e0ce9f261c8d7c09a.Because the exclusionary rule does not forbid us from considering the indisputably non- fabricated evidence located in Codrington’s vehicle, we can rely upon the small amount of marijuana, marijuana grinder, and legal firearm seized from the vehicle to determine whether defendants had probable cause to arrest Codrington.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f4th_142.jsonl#/f4th/142/884; Unicode character offsets [28404:28726] (end exclusive); SHA-256 997b387c2c89f1d2c34461257739053b3dcd8941cb6ef00e0ce9f261c8d7c09a.The Jefferson County Circuit Court agreed and granted the motion to suppress before ultimately dismissing the charges against him.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f4th_142.jsonl#/f4th/142/884; Unicode character offsets [6811:6941] (end exclusive); SHA-256 997b387c2c89f1d2c34461257739053b3dcd8941cb6ef00e0ce9f261c8d7c09a.Unlike the fabrication-of-evidence claim, which requires the act of using falsified evidence, malicious prosecution concerns prosecution without probable cause.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f4th_142.jsonl#/f4th/142/884; Unicode character offsets [25397:25557] (end exclusive); SHA-256 997b387c2c89f1d2c34461257739053b3dcd8941cb6ef00e0ce9f261c8d7c09a.Putting aside the questions of fact regarding the allegedly fabricated evidence, the undisputed facts established probable cause for the officers to arrest and charge Codrington with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia while possessing a firearm.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f4th_142.jsonl#/f4th/142/884; Unicode character offsets [26132:26403] (end exclusive); SHA-256 997b387c2c89f1d2c34461257739053b3dcd8941cb6ef00e0ce9f261c8d7c09a. |
Court interpretations
interpretation
a police officer violates a plaintiff’s right to a fair 30 trial when he “creates false information likely to influence a jury’s 31 decision and forwards that information to prosecutors.”
Galloway v. County of Nassau — 141 F.4th 417 (2025) · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 2025 (42usc1983: author: Fable · historical QA: PASS (QA2, neov2/qa/cases-QA2.md) · changed after review; current content not independently reviewed)
a police officer violates a plaintiff’s right to a fair 30 trial when he “creates false information likely to influence a jury’s 31 decision and forwards that information to prosecutors.”Source:
docroot/ir/caselaw/f4th_141.jsonl#/f4th/141/417; Unicode character offsets [23687:23874] (end exclusive); SHA-256 ffd06c7c495fbf996a4a6d1e4a3336db8e40aa112435c30b895506a5be4e900f.Under Thompson v. Clark (596 U.S. 36 (2022)), a Fourth Amendment malicious-prosecution claim under § 1983 requires showing that the criminal prosecution ended without a conviction.