Lawwly

Connick v. Thompson

United States Supreme Court

563 U.S. 51 (2011)

Relevant factsFree

Prosecutors under Harry Connick (defendant) failed to disclose blood evidence exonerating John Thompson (plaintiff), who was wrongly convicted of armed robbery and, due to that conviction, chose not to testify in a separate murder trial where he was convicted and sentenced to death; the withheld evidence surfaced years later on death row, exonerating him after 18 years in prison. Thompson sued under § 1983 for failure to train prosecutors on disclosure obligations, and a jury awarded him $14 million, affirmed by the Fifth Circuit.

IssueFree

Whether, to be liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for failure to train, a district attorney's office must be deliberately indifferent to a need for more or different training.

Unlock the full brief

Free accounts read 20 full briefs. No card required.

Related cases