JOHNETTA CARR v. LOUISVILLE-JEFFERSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY METRO GOVERNMENT; TONY FINCH, GARY HUFFMAN, TERRY JONES, JIM LAWSON, and SHAWN SEABOLT, Police Detectives, in their individual capacities; TROY PITCOCK and JAMES HELLINGER, Louisville Police Sergeants, in their individual capacities - Articles

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JOHNETTA CARR v. LOUISVILLE-JEFFERSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY METRO GOVERNMENT; TONY FINCH, GARY HUFFMAN, TERRY JONES, JIM LAWSON, and SHAWN SEABOLT, Police Detectives, in their individual capacities; TROY PITCOCK and JAMES HELLINGER, Louisville Police Sergeants, in their individual capacities

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jun 16, 2022

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Elliot Slosar, LOEVY & LOEVY, Chicago, Illinois, for Appellant. Peter F. Ervin, JEFFERSON COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellees.

Attorneys 2: ON BRIEF: Elliot Slosar, Amy Robinson Staples, Margaret Campbell, LOEVY & LOEVY, Chicago, Illinois, for Appellant. Peter F. Ervin, Susan K. Rivera, JEFFERSON COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellees.

Judge(s): SILER, GIBBONS, and STRANCH, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky at Louisville

JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. In 2008, Johnetta Carr entered an Alford plea to second degree manslaughter, pleading guilty but maintaining her innocence. Over a decade later, she was pardoned. Carr then sued Louisville-Jefferson County, the City of Louisville, and several police officers under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging her conviction was the result of constitutional violations. The district court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss, finding Carr’s § 1983 claims were not cognizable under the Supreme Court’s precedent in Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). As Carr’s pardon satisfies the requirements of Heck, we reverse the district court and remand for Carr to pursue her claims.

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