In ''Janetka v. Dabe'', 892 F.2d 187 (2d Cir. 1989), the

Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, and it has appellate jurisdic ...

considered whether, under New York law, a plaintiff could satisfy the element of " favorable termination" requisite to a

malicious prosecution Malicious prosecution is a common law intentional tort. Like the tort of abuse of process, its elements include (1) intentionally (and maliciously) instituting and pursuing (or causing to be instituted or pursued) a legal action ( civil or crim ...

claim when he had been acquitted on a misdemeanor charge (

resisting arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be Interroga ...

) but convicted of a less serious charge (

disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions, such as the United States and China. Typically, "disorderly conduct" is a term used to refer to any behavior that is considered unacceptable in a formal, civilized or controlled environment. ...

, a violation).

Background

In 1986, Andrew F. Janetka, Jr. was arrested by Darrell Dabe of the

Suffolk County Police Department The Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) provides police services to 5 of the 10 Towns in Suffolk County, New York. It is the second largest county police agency in the United States, with approximately 2500 sworn officers. History Prior ...

for

. Janetka was found guilty of a lesser charge,

, and Dabe was reprimanded for how he documented the incident. Janetka later filed suit against the county under the concept of

respondeat superior ''Respondeat superior'' (Latin: "let the master answer"; plural: ''respondeant superiores'') is a doctrine that a party is responsible for (and has vicarious liability for) acts of his agents.''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012, ...

. The court reiterated that, under New York law, *A "favorable termination" is a termination indicating that the accused is not guilty. *When the termination is indecisive, the surrounding facts must be examined to determine "whether the failure to proceed implies a lack of reasonable grounds for the prosecution."''Janetka'', 892 F.2d at 189, citing

Holding

The court held that this acquittal constituted "favorable termination".

Reasoning

1) the multiple criminal charges were "distinct," ''i.e.'' :(a) their elements are distinct, :(b) neither is a lesser included offense of the other, and :(c) (most importantly) the underlying acts were committed against different people (the disorderly conduct charge involved Janetka's actions directed at the unidentified Hispanic man; the resisting arrest charge involved his actions directed at the officers' attempts to arrest him). 2) to reject a malicious prosecution claim would be "particularly inappropriate" where the acquitted charge was the more serious one, because then police officers could add unsupported, serious charges to legitimate, minor ones with impunity.

Analysis

The holding of Janetka is overcome by arguing that all the charges for which plaintiff was prosecuted stem from the same criminal activity and substantially overlap.

References

External links

{{caselaw source , case = ''Janetka v. Dabe'', 892 F.2d 187 (2d Cir. 1989) , cornell = , courtlistener = , findlaw = , justia =http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/892/187/72788/ , oyez = , vlex = , openjurist =https://openjurist.org/892/f2d/187 , leagle =https://www.leagle.com/decision/19891079892f2d18711037 , googlescholar =https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1773817044498969367 United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit cases 1989 in United States case law 1989 in New York (state) Suffolk County, New York