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D.N.J.: Search claim not barred by Heck barred by SOL under Wallace

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Plaintiff's Fourth Amendment illegal search claim accrued at the time of the occurrence, and there was no Heck bar at the time. Kirkland v. Doe, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101472 (D. N.J. December 15, 2008): Although Wallace only directly addressed the issue of whether the Heck bar applied to a false arrest claim, its reasoning is equally applicable to a claim for illegal search and seizure. See Dominguez v. Hendley, 545 F.3d 585, 589 (7th Cir. 2008) (citing Wallace for the proposition that "Fourth Amendment claims as a group do not necessarily imply the invalidity of a criminal conviction, and so such claims are not suspended under the Heck bar to suit."); see also Mallard v. Potenza, No. 94-cv-222, 2007 WL 4198246, at *3 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 21, 2007) (noting that courts have found it a "rather modest leap" to extend Wallace's holding to search and seizure claims)...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on December 19, 2008 (boomark / email).