In between the U.S. Supreme Court’s blockbuster cases—gerrymandering, the census, and others—the court handed down a couple of important civil rights decisions this term, concerning police fabrication of evidence (McDonough) and police retaliation for protected First Amendment speech (Nieves). In this author’s view, the court batted one for two.

Fabrication of Evidence

When does the statute of limitations begin to run for §1983 fabrication of evidence claims? The Supreme Court held that the statute (three years in New York) runs from dismissal of the criminal charge. McDonough v. Smith, No. 18-485, 2019 WL 2527474, at *2-9 (June 20, 2019).