by David M. Reutter

After 35 years of proclaiming his innocence for the kidnapping and rape of a 9-year-old boy, James Bain, 54, was finally proven innocent and released from a Florida prison on December 17, 2009.
Of the 246 prisoners nationwide exonerated by DNA evidence, Bain served the most time, according to the Innocence Project of Florida.

At the time of the 1974 crime, the victim said his attacker had bushy sideburns and a mustache. The boy’s uncle, a former assistant principal at a local high school, thought it sounded like Bain, one of his former students.

Confronted by detectives with a photo lineup, the victim identified Bain. Questions remain as to whether the detectives steered the child to make an incorrect identification. In a subsequent deposition, the victim said he was asked to “pick out Jimmie Bain” among the photos.

Evidentiary testing available at the time failed to definitively link Bain to the crime. Despite that fact the jury rejected his alibi de-fense, supported by his twin sister, that he was home watching TV. Following his conviction Bain was sentenced to life in prison.

After four of his pro se petitions seeking DNA testing were thrown out by ...

On December 22, 2005, the County of Sacramento agreed to pay $1,000 to settle a claim by a man who was erroneously held seven days beyond his sentence.

Don Daniel was scheduled to be released from RCCC Correctional Center, but was held an additional seven days because jail staff believed ...

By Brandon Sample

On June 7, 2004, the County of Sacramento agreed to pay $2,219.01 to settle a false imprisonment claim by a man who was arrested while attempting to visit a prisoner at the Sacramento Main Jail (SMJ).

Darren Thompson was arrested when he went to visit a friend ...

A New York State Jury awarded $10,000 in a lawsuit for false arrest and imprisonment.

Rames Polanco was detained by police officers of the city of New York on September 9, 2003, under suspicion of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Polanco was taken to the precinct, where he was told ...

Washington State’s Pierce County Correction Center paid $1,000 to settle a prisoner’s claim for unlawful imprisonment.

On January 31, 2002, Mr. Ted D. Harris was arrested and released on bail after he served twenty-two days.

Harris was arrested on February 11, 2004. Twelve days later he entered a plea. For ...

The City of New York paid $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a man who spent nine months in jail after being falsely accused of selling Ecstasy to an undercover officer.

The plaintiff, a taxi driver in his late 20s, was arrested for making the sale to the ...

Washington State’s Pierce County paid $2,500 to settle a claim for violation of civil rights and misplacing a vehicle.

For no apparent reason, Officer J. Billings of the Steilacoom Police department activated his emergency police lights and pulled over Byron Burris. Billings approached Burris’s vehicle as Burris exited his. Billings ...

On November 16, 2006, the State of Washington settled a wrongful imprisonment claim against the Department of Corrections (DOC) for $5,000.

Mario Garcia was convicted of burglary and assault and sentenced to 21 months imprisonment and 9-18 months of supervised release. The DOC incarcerated Garcia once for at least 75 ...

Washington State’s Pierce County Jail paid $5,000 to settle an unlawful imprisonment claim. On March 14, 1999, Binh Thai Nguyen was arrested in Cowlitz County and booked in the Pierce County Jail. Nguyen was released on March 16, 1999, because the arrest warrant was for Binh Hoa Nguyen.

Nguyen was ...

"Mere Propinquity" Not sufficient Probable Cause for Search of Home

On March 22, 2006, a Sheriff’s Deputy was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The search for the primary suspect in the slaying led investigators to seek and obtain a search warrant for the residence of the suspect’s in-laws, Rick, Cindy and Chara Poolaw. Believing there was no probable cause for the search of their residence, nor their concomitant detention, the Poolaws filed suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging the action constituted unreasonable search and seizure.

Plaintiff's attorney, George L. Bach, Jr., argued investigators lacked probable cause for the search and relied solely on their familial relationship with the suspect to motivate it. The district court denied the Defendants the qualified immunity they requested and granted summary judgment in favor of the Poolaws.

On appeal the 10th Circuit agreed with the district court ruling, citing various case law establishing it takes more than a familial tie to a criminal suspect to give rise to sufficient probable cause for a search. Citing Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85,91 (1979) specifically, the court stated "mere propinquity to others independently suspected of criminal activity ...