Third Circuit Refuses to Revive Police Officer’s Suit Against the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office

Dilworth Paxson partners David Smith and Anne E. Kane recently secured an appellate victory on behalf of District Attorney Lawrence S. Krasner and former prosecutor Tracy Tripp. 

This case arose out of the 2017 shooting of David Jones, who was shot in the back by police officer Ryan Pownall as Jones fled from an altercation with Pownall.  The DA’s Office secured a grand jury indictment against Pownall for murder based on the testimony of several witnesses.  After the indictment was dismissed without prejudice on procedural grounds, Pownall brought a civil rights action, claiming that his use of force was “justified” and that Tripp and Krasner had somehow manipulated the evidence presented to the grand jury.  The trial court dismissed Pownall’s complaint, holding that the presentation of evidence to a grand jury is a core prosecutorial function and shielded by absolute immunity.

On appeal, the Third Circuit rejected Pownall’s attempt to challenge the trial court’s immunity ruling.  The Court emphasized that Pownall had not alleged any specific “investigative” prosecutorial misconduct and that generalized allegations of wrongdoing were insufficient “to overcome immunity.”