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Civil Rights: No Violation of Civil Rights Where There Was Only an Attempted Deprivation of Liberty

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Plaintiff, a prison inmate, alleged that a prison official approached three other inmates and asked them to sign affidavits stating that Plaintiff was selling drugs. Plaintiff filed suit, alleging that this conduct constituted a violation of substantive due process. The district court dismissed the complaint, because, even if the allegations were true, the complaint alleged only an "attempted" deprivation of liberty; Plaintiff had suffered no damage as a result of Defendant's alleged conduct. However, the court observed that, if the conduct had occurred, it did constitute "an egregious abuse of authority that shocks the conscience of the court."

John Murphy-Bey v Harvey Dutcher, Civ. No. 96-CV-71371-DT, E.D. Mich., 10/28/98, Friedman, J. (dkt #59 – 4 pages)

This article was prepared by Mark A. Goldsmith, a partner in our Litigation Department, and will appear in the January 1999 edition of the Michigan Bar Journal.

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