Section 1983 malicious prosecution law has been permeated with doctrinal difficulties for a very long time. While “malicious prosecution” may be a handy moniker, when all is said and done the §1983 plaintiff has to establish a violation of her federal constitutional rights. Wood v. Kessler, 323 F.3d 872, 882 (11th Cir. 2003) (§1983 malicious prosecution claim is matter of federal law). Accord Blum v. Lopez, 901 F.3d 1352, 1358 (11th Cir. 2018) (federal not state law governs §1983 malicious prosecution claims).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit requires §1983 malicious prosecution plaintiffs to demonstrate an unreasonable Fourth Amendment seizure and the four common-law elements of malicious prosecution: (1) initiation of a criminal prosecution; (2) without probable cause; (3) malice; and (4) termination of the prosecution in favor of the accused. Lanning v. City of Glens Falls, 908 F.3d 19 (2d Cir. 2018).