McConkie v. Nichols, CIV. 04-91-B-W.

Citation392 F.Supp.2d 1
Decision Date13 October 2005
Docket NumberNo. CIV. 04-91-B-W.,CIV. 04-91-B-W.
PartiesMichael S. MCCONKIE, Plaintiff, v. Scott NICHOLS, Defendant.
CourtUnited States District Courts. 1st Circuit. United States District Court (Maine)

Christopher K. Maclean, Elliott & Maclean, LLP, Camden, David P. Silk, Curtis, Thaxter, Stevens, Broder, & Micoleau, Portland, ME, for Michael S. McConkie, Plaintiff.

William R. Fisher, Attorney General's Office, Augusta, ME, for Scott Nichols, Defendant.

ORDER ON PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS AND ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

WOODCOCK, District Judge.

Michael S. McConkie filed a § 1983 action against Detective Scott Nichols on the ground that Detective Nichols lied to him during a police interview and extracted a confession, which resulted in a criminal conviction that was later vacated. After this Court affirmed a recommended decision dismissing Mr. McConkie's amended complaint, Mr. McConkie filed a motion for reconsideration. This Court reaffirms the portion of the recommended decision applicable to claims other than the substantive due process "coercive interrogation" claim. However, based on Mr. McConkie's allegation that he was "harmed" as a result of the police interrogation, this Court agrees his amended complaint is sufficient to withstand a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss and to that extent only, this Court vacates its Order dated July 1, 2005. Turning to the motion for summary judgment, which Defendant filed in the alternative, this Court concludes that the alleged conduct, when viewed in the light most favorable to the Plaintiff, is not conscience-shocking and this Court grants Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment.

I. Statement of Facts

This case traces back to a police interrogation on June 23, 1998, when Detective Scott Nichols assured Michael S. McConkie any information provided during his interview would "stay confidential," Pl.'s Am. Compl. at ¶ 8 (Docket # 3), and, on that basis, elicited incriminating statements. Mr. McConkie's statements did not "stay confidential". Instead, the state of Maine prosecuted Mr. McConkie and used his statements at trial to convict him of unlawful sexual contact with a minor. Id. at ¶ 10, 11. On August 11, 2000, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Detective Nichols' interview violated Mr. McConkie's constitutional rights, vacated the conviction, and remanded the case to Superior Court. State v. McConkie, 2000 ME 158, 755 A.2d 1075 (2000). After a second trial in which the incriminating statements were not admitted, Mr. McConkie was found not guilty and was released from prison having served 525 days incarceration. Pl.'s Mot. for Partial Summ. J. at 4 (Docket # 22).

A. The Amended Complaint

Mr. McConkie filed an amended complaint, asserting causes of action under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988. Pl.'s Am. Compl. Mr. McConkie alleged Detective Nichols violated his "substantive due process rights when he affirmatively mislead plaintiff as to his constitutionally protected right against self-incrimination (i.e. that the information he provided would not be used against him because it would remain confidential)". Id. at ¶ 10. He went on to assert that as "a direct result of defendant Nichols' violation of plaintiff's due process rights, plaintiff was incarcerated by the State of Maine for at least 525 days." Id. at ¶ 11. After referencing the Law Court's decision, id. at ¶ 12, Mr. McConkie reiterated that as "a direct result of defendant's violation of plaintiff's due process rights, plaintiff was harmed." Id. at ¶ 13. He concluded that by "violating plaintiff's substantive due process rights, defendant, in his individual capacity, has violated 42 U.S.C. § 1983", id. at ¶ 15, and demanded unspecified damages, including punitive damages.

B. The Motion to Dismiss / Motion for Summary Judgment

On February 3, 2005, Detective Nichols filed in the alternative: a motion to dismiss and a motion for summary judgment, Def's Mot. to Dismiss and Alternatively Mot. for Summ. J. (Docket # 20), and on March 29, 2005, Magistrate Judge Kravchuk issued a decision, recommending the amended complaint be dismissed for failure to state a claim. Am. Report and Recommended Decision (Docket # 38). Magistrate Judge Kravchuk noted that the first step in a § 1983 analysis is to determine the source of the constitutional right. Id. at 5. Analyzing Chavez v. Martinez, 538 U.S. 760, 123 S.Ct. 1994, 155 L.Ed.2d 984 (2003), Judge Kravchuk concluded that, although Mr. McConkie may have a Fifth Amendment claim, he had not asserted one and that, under Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989), the substantive due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment did not govern the claim made in his Amended Complaint. Id. at 5-9.

Mr. McConkie objected. Pl.'s Obj. to Report and Recommended Decision. (Docket # 41). Mr. McConkie acknowledged that if he had predicated his claim on the extraction and use of the compelled statements at trial, the Graham infirmity would apply, since the Fifth Amendment would be the more explicit source of constitutional protection. Id. at 3. However, Mr. McConkie emphasized he was not making a Fifth Amendment claim; instead, he was complaining "only of the propriety of the law enforcement tactics used to obtain the confession...." Id. (emphasis in original). On July 1, 2005, this Court affirmed Judge Kravchuk's Recommended Decision. Order Affirming Report and Recommended Decision (Docket # 43). In doing so, this Court addressed Mr. McConkie's objection in a footnote, noting that the gravamen of the amended complaint was that he was "improperly charged, tried, convicted, and as a consequence spent 525 days in prison." Id. at 1 n. I. This Court pointed out that the amended complaint specified that the harm from Detective Nichols' violation of his constitutional rights was his incarceration and there was no allegation of mental or physical abuse during the police interrogation itself. Id.

On July 12, 2005, Mr. McConkie moved for reconsideration. Pl.'s Mot. for Reconsideration of Order Granting Def's Mot. to Dismiss (Docket # 45). Asserting his complaint "is and has always been, that (Detective) Nichols violated his substantive due process rights by affirmatively misleading him as to his right against self-incrimination during the interrogation process", Mr. McConkie claimed this Court has "misconstrued (his) complaint and, as such, has committed a manifest error of law." Id. at 3. He said he should be allowed to pursue a Fourteenth Amendment claim, regardless of whether a Fifth Amendment claim was available to him. Id. at 4. Mr. McConkie also cited the allegation in the amended complaint that he had suffered harm from the interrogation and argued that this Court erred in failing to accept this allegation as true for purposes of the motion to dismiss.1 Id. at 4.

II. Discussion
A. Motion to Dismiss
1. Misconstruction

This Court has not misconstrued the issues in this case. In fact, its characterizations of the issues and Mr. McConkie's characterizations are strikingly similar.2 His real objection is that this Court decided the issues against him: to disagree, however, is not to misconstrue. That said, Mr. McConkie may be engaging in strategic ambiguity. At some points, he claims he is entitled to damages for his prosecution, conviction, and incarceration; at other points, he concedes he is not.3 The nature of his claim, however, determines the scope of the harm.

Mr. McConkie was convicted when his incriminating statements were admitted and not convicted when they were not. As Magistrate Judge Kravchuk explained, the use of his statements at trial may have constituted a Fifth Amendment violation, but Mr. McConkie has not raised a Fifth Amendment argument. As the only causal link between a constitutional violation and his conviction and incarceration is the violation of the unasserted Fifth Amendment claim, he cannot claim the conviction and incarceration as harm flowing directly from the coercive interrogation. The interrogation itself did not cause this harm.4

This Court reaffirms both Magistrate Judge Kravchuk's recommended decision and its ruling on this issue. The Plaintiff's motion for reconsideration is DENIED to the extent it requests this Court to alter its July 1, 2005 Order affirming the recommended decision and dismissing any claim for damages flowing from a violation of his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, including specifically any damages relating to his prosecution, conviction and imprisonment.

2. "Harm" Resulting From The Stand Alone Substantive Due Process Claim

Mr. McConkie alleges unspecified "harm" resulting solely from a "coercive interrogation" violative of his rights to substantive due process. In its July 1, 2005 Order, this Court agreed that Chavez may allow a substantive due process claim resulting from a coercive police interrogation untethered to an enumerated right. Order Affirming Report and Recommended Decision at 1 n. 1; Chavez, 538 U.S. at 773, 123 S.Ct. 1994 ("Our views on the proper scope of the Self-Incrimination Clause do not mean that police torture or other abuse that results in a confession is constitutionally permissible so long as the statements are not used at trial; it simply means that the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, rather than the Fifth Amendment's Self-Incrimination Clause, would govern the inquiry and can provide relief in appropriate circumstances."). Given the possibility of a stand alone substantive due process claim from an unconstitutional police interrogation, the only remaining question is whether Mr. McConkie's general allegation of harm is sufficient to withstand a Rule 12(b)(6) motion. Upon reconsideration and with considerable reluctance, this Court agrees with Mr. McConkie that his amended complaint's unspecified allegation of "harm" is sufficient for Rule 12(b)(6) purposes, though barely so.

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