A former prisoner whose attempted murder conviction was vacated over withheld exculpatory evidence can still pursue a civil rights lawsuit even though he elected to plead guilty to a lesser offense just to get out of prison, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled.
A two-to-one majority held on April 19 that released prisoner Marcos Poventud is not barred by a U.S. Supreme Court decision that requires plaintiffs to prove their convictions have been reversed or expunged before filing suit.
