Fourth Amendment Malicious Prosecution Claims

In Chiaverini v. City of Napolean, No. 23-50, the opinion of the Court, by Justice Kagan, discusses the requirements for a “Fourth Amendment malicious-prosecution claim.” Justices Thomas and Gorsuch deny there is any such thing.  The Fourth Amendment deals with seizures, not prosecutions, and the constitutional tort is the arrest and detention, not the prosecution.

The majority reversed the Sixth Circuit’s holding that the claim is defeated if one of the charges is valid. The question of whether the mixed valid and invalid charges caused the arrest and detention remains open on remand.