FRANCISCO DUARTE, ET AL V. CITY OF STOCKTON, ET AL, No. 21-16929 (9th Cir. 2023)
Annotate this Case
Plaintiff pled “no contest” or “nolo contendere” to willfully resisting, obstructing, and delaying a peace officer in violation of section 148(a)(1) of the California Penal Code. Although Plaintiff entered the equivalent of a guilty plea, the state court never entered an order finding him guilty of the charge to which he pleaded. Instead, the court ordered that its acceptance of Plaintiff’s plea would be “held in abeyance,” pending his completion of ten hours of community service and obedience of all laws. After the six months of abeyance elapsed, the charges against Plaintiff were “dismissed” in the “interest of justice” on the prosecutor’s motion. Plaintiff brought an action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. The district court held that Plaintiff’s false arrest and excessive force claims were barred by Heck v. Humphrey.
The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s false arrest and municipal liability claims, as well as the district court’s adverse summary judgment on Plaintiff’s excessive force claim, and remanded for further proceedings. The panel held that the Heck bar does not apply in a situation where criminal charges are dismissed after entry of a plea that was held in abeyance pending the defendant’s compliance with certain conditions. The panel further held that the district court erred in dismissing Plaintiff’s municipal liability claims against the City of Stockton and Stockton Police Department. Longstanding precedent establishes that both California municipalities and police departments are “persons” amenable to suit under Section 1983.
Court Description: Civil Rights In an action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the panel reversed the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s false arrest and municipal liability claims, as well as the district court’s adverse summary judgment on plaintiff’s excessive force claim, and remanded for further proceedings. Plaintiff pled “no contest” or “nolo contendere” to willfully resisting, obstructing, and delaying a peace officer in violation of section 148(a)(1) of the California Penal Code. Although plaintiff entered the equivalent of a guilty plea, the state court never entered an order finding him guilty of the charge to which he pleaded. Instead, the court ordered that its acceptance of plaintiff’s plea would be “held in abeyance,” pending his completion of ten hours of * The Honorable Kathleen Cardone, United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas, sitting by designation. DUARTE V. CITY OF STOCKTON 3 community service and obedience of all laws. After the six months of abeyance elapsed, the charges against plaintiff were “dismissed” in the “interest of justice” on the prosecutor’s motion. The district court held that plaintiff’s false arrest and excessive force claims were barred by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994), which holds that § 1983 claims must be dismissed if they would “necessarily require the plaintiff to prove the unlawfulness of his conviction.” Plaintiff’s municipal liability claims were also rejected as improperly filed against defendants who were not “persons.” The panel held that the Heck bar does not apply in a situation where criminal charges are dismissed after entry of a plea that was held in abeyance pending the defendant’s compliance with certain conditions. The panel rejected appellees’ argument that by pleading no contest and completing the conditions of his agreement with the prosecution, plaintiff was functionally convicted and sentenced. The panel held that the Heck bar requires an actual judgment of conviction, not its functional equivalent. The panel further held that the district court erred in dismissing plaintiff’s municipal liability claims against the City of Stockton and Stockton Police Department. Longstanding precedent establishes that both California municipalities and police departments are “persons” amenable to suit under § 1983. See Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 701 (1978); Karim- Panahi v. L.A. Police Dep’t, 839 F.2d 621, 624 n.2 (9th Cir. 1988). 4 DUARTE V. CITY OF STOCKTON
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.