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Due Process Violation

By: Derek Hawkins//June 3, 2019//

Due Process Violation

By: Derek Hawkins//June 3, 2019//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Walter Goudy v. Rodney J. Cummings, et al.

Case No.: 17-3665

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and SYKES and BARRETT, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Due Process Violation

In 1963 the Supreme Court announced that the prosecution team has a duty under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to turn over material, exculpatory evidence to criminal defendants. Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963); see also Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419 (1995); United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667 (1985). Walter Goudy contends in this case that the state and local officials who pursued him for a 1993 murder failed to comply with their Brady obligations, and that he is entitled to damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for the years he spent in prison. That request was based on his success in an earlier round of litigation, which culminated with this court’s ruling that Goudy was entitled to a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Goudy v. Basinger, 604 F.3d 394 (7th Cir. 2010) (Goudy I). The state elected not to retry him; he was released; and 17 months later he filed this suit.

The district court winnowed the section 1983 action down to three allegations that the investigators in the case violated his due process rights, by (1) subjecting him to an improper show‐up procedure, (2) withholding a videotape showing a line‐up in which several witnesses identified a different person as the shooter, and (3) withholding interview notes showing that the other suspect initially had denied any involvement in the murder, but later switched his story. The court granted summary judgment for the defendants on all aspects of the case. We conclude that this was premature: Goudy presented enough evidence on the second and third arguments to move forward. We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings.

Reversed and remanded

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.

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