Geneva France v. Lee Lucas
836 F.3d 612
6th Cir.2016Background
- Operation Turnaround (Richland County Sheriff’s Office with DEA involvement) used confidential informant Jerrell Bray to conduct controlled drug buys that led to arrests of Lowestco Ballard and Geneva France.
- Bray later admitted using stand-ins and fabricating identifications to frame suspects; he pleaded guilty to perjury and civil-rights charges and died in 2012. DEA Agent Lee Lucas was criminally tried and acquitted; an OIG report later criticized Lucas (report not in record here).
- Ballard was arrested based on a September 9, 2005 buy (stand-in Darren Transou); Lucas identified Ballard at trial and Ballard was acquitted after ~10 months’ pretrial detention.
- France was arrested based on an October 25, 2005 buy (stand-in Karmiya Moxley); Lucas identified France at trial from a single outdated photo and France was convicted and served ~16 months before vacatur.
- Plaintiffs sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging malicious prosecution, fabrication of evidence, Brady violations, Monell municipal liability, and conspiracy against RCSO officers Metcalf, Mayer, Faith, Sheriff Sheldon, and Richland County; district court granted summary judgment to defendants; plaintiffs appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admissibility of Bray affidavit (sham-affidavit doctrine) | Bray’s late affidavit shows officers knew of/assisted framing and should be considered | Affidavit contradicts Bray’s prior sworn testimony and was submitted to defeat summary judgment; trial cross-examination unavailable | Court affirmed exclusion: sham-affidavit doctrine properly applied; district court didn’t abuse discretion |
| Malicious prosecution (officers’ personal participation; lack of probable cause) | Ballard/France: RCSO officers knew of Brady’s misconduct, falsified reports, and influenced prosecutions | Defendants: probable cause existed based on Lucas’s eyewitness ID and grand-jury indictments; plaintiffs must show officers personally caused violation or knew Lucas’s testimony was false | Court held officers lacked personal participation/evidence of knowing or reckless falsehood; probable cause existed via Lucas’s IDs/indictments; summary judgment affirmed for officers (Sheldon, Metcalf, Mayer, Faith) |
| Fabrication of evidence | Plaintiffs: officers fabricated or aided fabrication (false reports, photo ID practices, false affidavits) | Defendants: no evidence officers fabricated evidence against Ballard/France that was likely to affect a jury beyond Lucas’s ID | Court held fabrication claims fail because plaintiffs didn’t show officers fabricated evidence against them or that false evidence was likely to affect the outcome; summary judgment affirmed |
| Monell municipal liability and Brady claim (France) | County custom/training allowed informant abuse; Brady evidence about Bray’s misconduct was material | County: no underlying constitutional violation; Brady: Lucas’s trial ID and impeachment about Bray made nondisclosure not material | Court held Monell fails because no underlying § 1983 violation proven; Brady claim fails as evidence would not have created reasonable probability of different outcome; summary judgment affirmed |
Key Cases Cited
- Webb v. United States, 789 F.3d 647 (6th Cir. 2015) (Operation Turnaround background and informant issues)
- Robertson v. Lucas, 753 F.3d 606 (6th Cir. 2014) (grand-jury/false testimony and probable-cause allocation)
- Sykes v. Anderson, 625 F.3d 294 (6th Cir. 2010) (elements of § 1983 malicious prosecution)
- Barnes v. Wright, 449 F.3d 709 (6th Cir. 2006) (indictment from fair grand jury establishes probable cause)
- Ahlers v. Schebil, 188 F.3d 365 (6th Cir. 1999) (eyewitness ID normally suffices for probable cause absent reason to doubt ID)
- Gregory v. City of Louisville, 444 F.3d 725 (6th Cir. 2006) (fabrication-of-evidence standard)
- Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194 (2001) (qualified-immunity two-step analysis)