Olson v. Champaign County, No. 12-3742 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseThere was a burglary of the Buhr property. Olson’s neighbor had placed a deteriorated, unlicensed trailer on the Olsons’ property. Believing that it was abandoned, Olson fixed and painted the trailer, leaving it near the road. The trailer disappeared. Olson did not file a police report. Detective Sherrick discovered the trailer in a ditch and suspected that Olson had stolen the trailer and used it to transport lawn mowers stolen from Buhr. He obtained warrants that authorized the collection of DNA samples and fingerprints and a search of the Olsons’ property. Despite obtaining no evidence implicating Olson, Detectives Sherrick and Shaw allegedly told assistant state’s attorney Ziegler that Olson should be charged. Ziegler had no personal knowledge. He swore that the facts set forth in the information were true, relying on the detectives’ statements. Olson was arrested. Charges were later dismissed. The district court dismissed Olson’s suit. The Seventh Circuit reversed. The prosecutor allegedly swore to the truth of facts to obtain the warrant. Acting as a witness, not as a state advocate, he is not protected by absolute prosecutorial immunity. Neither the detectives nor the prosecutor are entitled to qualified immunity. The complaint permits a reasonable inference that the detectives, the prosecutor, or all three gave false information to the judge who issued the warrant.
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