Judge Joseph Bianco
Police officer Mauro stopped Levy in October 2011 for driving in the wrong lane on the Long Island Expressway. Tickets were issued and Levy’s license plates confiscated. A bench warrant was issued after Levy missed his court appearance, allegedly due to misinformation Mauro wrote in the tickets. The criminal case against Levy—prosecuted by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office—for the traffic violations remains ongoing in Nassau County District Court. Levy’s pro se action against the Town of North Hempstead and its town attorney (collectively, town Defendants), and prosecutor Sarowitz, alleged constitutional rights violations under 42 USC §1983. District court dismissed Levy’s claims against Sarowitz—whose actions in initiating and maintaining a prosecution provided absolute immunity—and granted the town Defendants—whose evidence showed the town does not employ any police officers, and that Mauro was not a town employee—summary judgment. No rational jury could find the town defendants involved in the search and seizure of Levy’s vehicle, or his subsequent prosecution. To the extent Levy sought to enjoin his ongoing criminal prosecution, his claims were barred by the Younger abstention doctrine.
