Knox v. Luke

District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided May 11, 2023·No. 1:19-cv-00343·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

MILAN KNOX,

Plaintiff, No. 19-cv-00343

v. Judge John F. Kness

GARY LUKE,

Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

The genesis of this lawsuit occurred over a decade ago when Plaintiff Milan Knox was involved in a car accident that, as Plaintiff later admitted through a guilty plea in a criminal case, happened while he was driving drunk. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Gary Luke, a Village of Sauk Village police officer, responded to the accident and, because of a personal vendetta, falsified evidence of Plaintiff’s intoxication. Plaintiff alleges that this falsified evidence led to his being arrested, charged, released on bond, and, of relevance here, convicted in an Illinois court of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). Plaintiff later violated his bond conditions and was detained for over three years before his criminal trial. Plaintiff asserts that this pretrial detention was unlawful because, if not for Defendant’s fabrications, Plaintiff would not have been in the position to violate his bond conditions. In his Second Amended Complaint, Plaintiff brings one Fourth Amendment claim for unlawful detention under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Defendant moves to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint and argues that, if Plaintiff’s unlawful detention claim

were to succeed, it would necessarily impugn the validity of Plaintiff’s DUI conviction in violation of Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). (Dkt. 119 at 4–8.) Plaintiff responds that he is not attempting to relitigate the DUI conviction but instead seeks damages for alleged Fourth Amendment violations that occurred leading up to his being charged with DUI. (Dkt. 123 at 7.) As explained below, Plaintiff’s allegations would, if accepted, directly contradict an element of his DUI conviction: that Plaintiff’s blood alcohol

concentration was at least 0.08%. Because that result would negate a necessary fact underlying Plaintiff’s settled criminal conviction, the unlawful detention claim presented in this case is barred under Heck. Defendant’s motion to dismiss (Dkt. 119) must therefore be granted. I. BACKGROUND On October 2, 2009, Plaintiff was involved in a car accident at an intersection

in the Village of Sauk Village, Illinois. (Dkt. 118 ¶ 5.) Sauk Village police officers, including Defendant, arrived at the scene in response to the accident. (Id. ¶¶ 4, 8.) Defendant’s police report (which Plaintiff alleges contains several lies) documents the following sequence of events leading to Plaintiff’s arrest for aggravated DUI. At the scene, Plaintiff exited his vehicle and spoke with Defendant and other responding officers. (Id. ¶ 10.) When Defendant asked Plaintiff to provide a driver’s license and proof of insurance, Plaintiff failed to provide adequate identification. (Id. ¶ 14.) Defendant then asked Plaintiff to perform a field sobriety test, which Plaintiff failed. (Id. ¶ 17.) After the field sobriety test, Defendant arrested Plaintiff

and transported him to the Sauk Village police station. (Id. ¶¶ 22–23.) At the station, Defendant breathalyzed Plaintiff three times, but the results were inconclusive. (Id. ¶ 25-26.) Defendant then brought Plaintiff to a hospital to draw blood for the purpose of performing a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test. (Id. ¶¶ 27–28.) Plaintiff’s BAC exceeded the legal limit. (Id. ¶ 45.) Plaintiff was driven back to the Sauk Village police station the next morning where he was processed and charged with aggravated DUI. (Id. ¶ 36.) Plaintiff was then transported to the Circuit Court

of Cook County, Illinois, where he remained detained until he posted bail on October 7, 2009. (Id. ¶¶ 37–38.) Although the events preceding Plaintiff’s arrest are disputed, the events that followed it are not. Plaintiff was released on bond subject to certain conditions, including a prohibition against contacting any witnesses to the car accident. (Id. ¶¶ 39–41.) For years, Plaintiff remained released on bond without incident. But

in February 2014, Plaintiff was arrested and detained for harassing a witness to the car accident. (Id. ¶¶ 39–40.) At a pretrial hearing in November 2015, the state court concluded that there was probable cause to arrest Plaintiff for improperly communicating with a witness and denied his motion to quash the arrest. Knox v. Curtis, No. 18-2989, 771 F. App’x 656, 657 (7th Cir. June 3, 2019). The court issued a no-bail order, and Plaintiff remained in Cook County Jail until August 2017. Id. Plaintiff was later convicted of communicating with a witness and sentenced to two years in prison. Id. Plaintiff was paroled in March 2018. Id. Later in 2018, Plaintiff finally resolved the aggravated DUI case that arose

from the October 2, 2009 car accident. On July 9, 2018, Plaintiff appeared in state court for a change of plea hearing. (Dkt. 119-2 at 1.) As part of the proceeding, the court explained the charge against Plaintiff: “[O]n or about October 2nd, 2009, you drove or were in actual physical control of a motor vehicle within the State of Illinois while the alcohol concentration in your blood or breath was .08[%] or more.” (Id. at 3.) After acknowledging that he understood the charge, Plaintiff pleaded guilty. (Id.) Plaintiff also stipulated that “a sufficient factual basis exists in the charging

instrument to form a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol.”1 (Id. at 5.)

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