Oakley Engesser v. Edward Fox, 993 F.3d 626

Background:

A high-speed crash in a Corvette killed passenger Dorothy Finley; Oakley Engesser was found outside the car near the driver’s door and was accused of being the driver.
Trooper Edward Fox concluded Engesser was the driver based on occupant locations and injury patterns; Engesser was convicted of vehicular homicide and battery.
Years later new witnesses (including a security guard and a passerby) came forward saying a woman had been driving; state courts granted habeas relief and overturned Engesser’s convictions.
Engesser sued Trooper Fox and supervisor Michael Kayras under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging a conscience-shocking reckless investigation (ignoring exculpatory evidence, not interviewing witnesses), improper storage/allowing removal of evidence, failure to supervise, and conspiracy.
The district court granted summary judgment for defendants; the Eighth Circuit reviewed whether the investigation violated substantive due process and whether any right was clearly established for qualified-immunity purposes.

Issues:

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Trooper Fox’s investigation was constitutionally deficient (reckless/purposeful disregard)	Fox ignored eyewitness statements and leads indicating Finley was driving, and failed to follow up on key witnesses	Fox relied on physical-scene evidence (occupant locations, injuries); any investigatory gaps were negligent, not conscience-shocking	No constitutional violation; investigation at worst negligent/grossly negligent, not reckless or purposeful misconduct
Whether failure to preserve/protect the Corvette (and allowing family access) violated due process	Leaving car outside and permitting family access allowed destruction/loss of exculpatory evidence	Officers were unaware impound practices; failure to secure was negligent, not intentional spoliation	No constitutional violation; conduct was negligent, not conscience-shocking
Supervisory liability for Kayras	Kayras failed to supervise/train Fox, so responsible for constitutional injury	No underlying constitutional violation by Fox, and no evidence Kayras directly participated	Claim fails because there is no underlying constitutional violation to base supervisory liability on
Civil-conspiracy claim	Conspiracy to deprive Engesser of constitutional rights via the flawed investigation	No deprivation of a constitutional right occurred	Claim fails for lack of an actual deprivation of constitutional rights

Key Cases Cited

Akins v. Epperly, 588 F.3d 1178 (8th Cir. 2009) (describing circumstances that indicate conscience-shocking investigative failure)
Winslow v. Smith, 696 F.3d 716 (8th Cir. 2012) (gross negligence not enough; purposeful ignoring of evidence may show conscience-shocking conduct)
Johnson v. Moody, 903 F.3d 766 (8th Cir. 2018) (rigorous standard for reckless-investigation claims)
Kingsley v. Lawrence Cnty., 964 F.3d 690 (8th Cir. 2020) (questionable or incomplete investigation is not conscience-shocking as a matter of law)
Wilson v. Lawrence Cnty., 260 F.3d 946 (8th Cir. 2001) (recklessness found where officers failed to investigate leads and relied on an involuntary confession)
Amrine v. Brooks, 522 F.3d 823 (8th Cir. 2008) (negligence/gross negligence insufficient for substantive-due-process violation)
Torgerson v. City of Rochester, 643 F.3d 1031 (8th Cir. 2011) (standard of review for summary judgment)
Engesser v. Young, 856 N.W.2d 471 (S.D. 2014) (state supreme court granting habeas relief overturning Engesser’s convictions)
State v. Engesser, 661 N.W.2d 739 (S.D. 2003) (trial and appellate proceedings resulting in original conviction)
Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) (principles governing an officer’s failure to preserve/preserve potentially exculpatory evidence analyzed in related contexts)
County of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833 (1998) (conscience-shocking standard for substantive-due-process claims)
Henry v. Johnson, 950 F.3d 1005 (8th Cir. 2020) (supervisory-liability claim requires underlying constitutional violation)