France v. Lucas, No. 15-3593 (6th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseBallard and France were framed during Operation Turnaround, a corrupt investigation into the Mansfield, Ohio drug trade by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Richland County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO). The federal government prosecuted Ballard and France for allegedly selling drugs to law-enforcement officials and confidential informant, Bray. After Operation Turnaround ended, however, Bray admitted that he used his friends to act as “stand-ins” for the drug buys and intentionally misidentified them to frame Ballard and France. Ballard and France then sued Bray, DEA Special Agent Lucas, RCSO officers, and the County of Richland, under 42 U.S.C. 1983. The district court granted summary judgment to the defendants. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. Ballard and France failed to produce evidence showing that the officers personally violated their constitutional rights. In addition, the officers relied on eyewitness identifications of Ballard and France by Agent Lucas and indictments from a federal grand jury for probable cause; Ballard and France failed to show a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the defendants should have doubted that there was probable cause.
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