Court of Appeals Upholds Dismissal of Malicious Prosecution

On August 31, the Court of Appeals, Division I upheld the dismissal of a malicious prosecution suit in Wright v. Pierce County, et al. KBM’s Stew Estes won summary judgment dismissal of all state law claims in the Superior Court after previously having all Wright’s federal law claims dismissed by Judge Settle in US District Court.

Wright was criminally charged for being involved in the rape of a former student who had attended a school where he was an administrator. His conviction was reversed on appeal, and charges were re-filed but later dismissed. Wright claimed that prosecutors hid evidence and concealed a “confession” by the victim that he was not involved. Primarily, there was no evidence to support any of the claims, but the court held that they were also barred by prosecutorial immunity. Wright also sued for defamation because one DPA stated to the newspaper that charges were re-filed because “We think they are guilty of the crime.” The Court lastly held that the defenses of probable cause, collateral estoppel, and the statute of limitations also barred the suit

See Article: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article32982987.html