The law should have a strong interest in compensating victims of wrongful conviction. Many of these individuals have spent years behind bars for crimes they did not commit. Nevertheless, §1983 plaintiffs who assert wrongful conviction claims typically face an uphill battle when seeking compensation for violations of their federally protected rights.
The Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants do not have a post-conviction due process right of access to evidence for the purpose of DNA testing. (District Attorney’s Office v. Osborne).1 Section 1983 wrongful conviction claims against prosecutors run up against absolute prosecutorial immunity. (Van de Kamp v. Goldstein).2 Section 1983 claims against law enforcement officers must overcome qualified immunity, that protects “all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.”3 Damages may not be awarded against a state or state agency under §1983.4 And, a municipal entity may be held liable only when the enforcement of a municipal policy or practice caused the deprivation of the plaintiff’s federally protected rights.
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