An upstate appellate panel is allowing a prosecutorial misconduct action to proceed in a case where an assistant district attorney took a second look at a closed case, losing any shield of immunity.
The Appellate Division, Fourth Department, noted that prosecutors are absolutely immune for conduct in relation to the "judicial phase of the criminal process," but have only qualified immunity when acting in an investigatory capacity. It said Niagara County assistant district attorney Claudette Caldwell stepped back into the investigatory realm when she revisited a case involving the death of a 7-month-old girl and, based on the allegations in this case, is not entitled to immunity.
