SCOTUS clarifies law governing §1983 claims arising from criminal cases

Under 42 U.S.C. §1983, our clients may file a claim for damages arising from a violation of their constitutional rights during the criminal justice process. For example, maybe the State violated their 4th Amendment rights or engaged in malicious prosecution. This week, SCOTUS issued a decision clarifying that in order to bring such a claim the client would not have to show “some affirmative indication of innocence.” Rather, client only has to show that their prosecution ended without a conviction. Click here to read SCOTUSblog’s thorough post on Thompson v. Clark.