Spurlock v. Whitley

• Decision Date: 17 July 1997
• Docket Number: No. 3:96-0926.,No. 3:96-0927.,3:96-0926.,3:96-0927.
• Citation: 971 F.Supp. 1166
• Parties: Robert SPURLOCK and Ronnie Marshall, Plaintiff, v. Lawrence Ray WHITLEY, et al., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Tennessee

971 F.Supp. 1166

Robert SPURLOCK and Ronnie Marshall, Plaintiff, v. Lawrence Ray WHITLEY, et al., Defendant.

No. 3:96-0926.

No. 3:96-0927.

United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Nashville District.

July 17, 1997.

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George Whitney Kemper, Nashville, TN, Rick Halprin, Chicago, IL, Nathan Diamond-Falk, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs.

Mary M. Bers, Nashville, TN, J. Graham Matherne, Nashville, TN, Henry Apple, Chattanooga, TN, Darrell Gene Townsend, Nashville, TN, William Ronald Wright, Gallatin, TN, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM

CAMPBELL, District Judge.

I. Introduction

This is an action to recover for the alleged wrongful investigation, prosecution, conviction, incarceration and reprosecution of Plaintiffs for murder based on alleged fabricated evidence and perjured testimony by Defendants. This case raises issues that challenge the integrity of criminal justice.

Pending before the Court are Amended Motion To Dismiss On Behalf Of Defendant Coarsey (Docket No. 35). Amended Motion To Dismiss Or, In The Alternative, Motion For Summary Judgment Of Defendant City Of Hendersonville, Tennessee (Docket No. 41), Restated Motion To Dismiss Of Defendant Danny Satterfield (Docket No. 44), Restated Motion To Dismiss Of Defendant Sumner County, Tennessee (Docket No. 46), Amended Motion To Dismiss For Failure To State A Claim Upon Which Relief May Be Granted By Defendants Whitley And Kitchen (Docket No. 48), Motion Of Defendant City Of Hendersonville To File First Amended Motion To Dismiss To Add Argument Based Upon Statute Of Limitations Defense (Docket No. 52), and Motion To File Plaintiffs' Response Instanter (Docket No. 56).

For the reasons set forth below, the Amended Motion To Dismiss On Behalf Of Defendant Coarsey (Docket No. 35) is DENIED, the Amended Motion To Dismiss Or, In The Alternative, Motion For Summary Judgment Of Defendant City Of Hendersonville, Tennessee (Docket No. 41) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, the Restated Motion To Dismiss Of Defendant Danny Satterfield (Docket No. 44) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, the Restated Motion To Dismiss Of Defendant Sumner County, Tennessee (Docket No. 46) is DENIED, the Amended Motion To Dismiss For Failure To State A Claim Upon Which Relief May Be Granted By Defendants Whitley And Kitchen (Docket No. 48) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, the Motion Of Defendant City Of Hendersonville To File First Amended Motion To Dismiss To Add Argument Based Upon Statute Of Limitations Defense (Docket No. 52) is GRANTED, and the Motion To File Plaintiffs' Response Instanter (Docket No. 56) is GRANTED.

II. Factual Background

Plaintiffs bring this consolidated action under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983 for violation of their rights under the First, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments seeking damages and attorneys' fees. Plaintiffs have also brought malicious prosecution claims under state law. Named as Defendants are Sumner County District Attorney Lawrence Ray Whitley, Sumner County Assistant District Attorney Jerry R. Kitchen, Hendersonville Police Officer John D. Coarsey, Sumner County Sheriffs Deputy Danny Satterfield, Henry Apple, Sumner County, Tennessee, and the City of Hendersonville, Tennessee. Plaintiffs allege the following facts in their Amended Complaint. On February 21, 1989, the body of Lonnie Malone was discovered in Sumner County, Tennessee. (Amended Complaint, at ¶ 9 (Docket No. 32)). Malone had died as a result of multiple stab wounds. (Id.) The Sumner County Sheriff's Department undertook an investigation into Malone's death. (Id.) Among the officers assigned to the investigation were George Farmer and his subordinate, Danny Satterfield. (Id.) "Almost immediately, Farmer and Satterfield focused their investigation on Robert Spurlock and Ronnie Marshall." (Id.)

The day after Malone's body was discovered, the Sheriff's Department obtained a search warrant for Plaintiff Spurlock's home and automobiles. (Amended Complaint, at ¶ 10). No evidence was discovered linking Spurlock to the murder. (Id.) At the time the search warrant was executed, the Amended Complaint alleges:

Spurlock told them he had an alibi and provided the name of an alibi witness. No attempt was made to investigate this claim. He also offered to take a polygraph. The offer was refused.

(Id.)

For the next two months, the Sheriff's Department allegedly was unable to link Spurlock or Marshall to the Malone homicide. (Amended Complaint, at ¶ 11). The Amended Complaint contends, however, that during this period of time, the Sheriff's Department had developed information linking persons other than Spurlock and Marshall to the Malone homicide. (Id.)

According to the Amended Complaint, District Attorney Whitley arranged and publicly announced the offer of a reward for information leading to the conviction or arrest of the person or persons responsible for the killing of Lonnie Malone. (Amended Complaint, at ¶ 12). After learning of the reward, Hendersonville Police Officer John Coarsey "devised a scheme whereby he would obtain possession of and control over the reward money." (Amended Complaint, at ¶ 13). The Amended Complaint alleges that Officer Coarsey knew Defendant Henry Apple as "a drug user and a street `informant.'" (Id.) On April 27, 1990, Officer Coarsey allegedly claimed that he received information from another "informant" that Defendant Apple had direct knowledge of the Malone homicide. (Id.)

At that time, Defendant Apple was allegedly being held in the Sumner County Jail for failure to pay child support. (Amended Complaint, at ¶ 14). According to the Amended Complaint, Officer Coarsey contacted Sumner County Sheriff's Deputy Satterfield and they both went to the Jail to interrogate Defendant Apple. (Amended Complaint, at ¶ 15). When confronted by Officer Coarsey and Deputy Satterfield, Defendant Apple allegedly denied any knowledge of the Malone homicide. (Id.)

Despite that denial, Officer Coarsey in the presence of Deputy Satterfield, continued to interrogate Defendant Apple. (Id.) It is alleged that Officer Coarsey:

... alternately threatened him with prosecution and offered him assistance for both him and his family if Apple would implicate Spurlock and Marshal in the Malone homicide in return. Additionally, Coarsey, in the presence of Satterfield, told Apple that if he would implicate Spurlock and Marshall, District Attorney General Ray Whitley would secure his release from the County Jail.

(Id.)

According to the Amended Complaint, Defendant Apple eventually "succumbed to both pressure and promise." (Id.) Because Defendant Apple was allegedly ignorant of any of the details developed through the investigation of the Malone homicide, Officer Coarsey and Deputy Satterfield "provided these details to Apple in order to effectuate his agreement to falsely implicate Spurlock and Marshall in the Malone homicide." (Id.)

Officer Coarsey and Deputy Satterfield then allegedly contacted District Attorney Whitley and advised him of their success in coercing Defendant Apple to falsely implicate Plaintiffs Spurlock and Marshall in the Malone homicide. (Amended Complaint, at ¶ 16). After receiving this information, District Attorney Whitley allegedly went to the jail and met with Defendant Apple (Id.) District Attorney Whitley purportedly "assured Apple of his release from jail in exchange for falsely implicating Spurlock and Marshall." (Id.)

According to the Amended Complaint, Officer Coarsey, Deputy Satterfield and District Attorney Whitley arranged for a videotape interview with Apple "[a]fter assuring themselves that Apple had his story straight." (Id.) The tape was allegedly recorded on April 27, 1990, and contains direct conversations by Apple with District Attorney Whitley in the presence of Officer Coarsey and Deputy Satterfield concerning Whitley's promise to release Apple from custody. (Amended Complaint, at ¶¶ 16, 33(e)).

The Amended Complaint states that:

After reviewing the events in the video and audio tapes of April 27, 1990 (Coarsey had made an audio tape with Apple prior to video tape), Whitley and Satterfield were not satisfied with Apple's performance. Whitley directed Satterfield to pressure Apple in an attempt to get him (Apple) to say he actually saw the killing (as opposed to the earlier statement provided to him by Coarsey and Satterfield in which he falsely states that on the night of the killing he saw Spurlock turn in a truck with blood on this shirt). (sic) Apple had also been told to say that prior to Spurlock's return, he had heard screams in the distance.

(Amended Complaint, at ¶ 17).

To aid in this effort, District Attorney Whitley purportedly told Deputy Satterfield he would not order Apple's release for a few days. (Id.) In the interim, District Attorney Whitley allegedly directed Assistant District Attorney Kitchen and Deputy Satterfield to attempt to induce Apple to say he saw the killing. (Id.) According to the Amended Complaint, Deputy Satterfield, Assistant District Attorney Kitchen, "and others at this time unknown to the Plaintiffs," told Apple that if he would say he saw the killing, he would be entitled to get the reward money. (Id.) The Amended Complaint states that this offer was made without Officer Coarsey's knowledge. (Id.)

Apple was allegedly still in jail as of April 29, 1990. (Amended Complaint, at ¶ 18). He "was visibly concerned that Whitley would not keep his agreement to secure his release in exchange for his providing false accusations against Spurlock and Marshall." (Id.) He allegedly explained these concerns to a jail guard who recorded the conversation. (Id.)

District Attorney Whitley, Assistant District Attorney Kitchen and Deputy Satterfield allegedly became aware of Apple's concerns, and abandoned their efforts to have Apple falsely state that he had actually seen the killing. (Amended Complaint, at ¶ 19). Instead, Whitley allegedly ordered Deputy...