McCarty v. Gilchrist

646 F.3d 1281, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 14390, 2011 WL 3243008
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedJuly 14, 2011
Docket09-6220
StatusPublished
Cited by108 cases

This text of 646 F.3d 1281 (McCarty v. Gilchrist) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCarty v. Gilchrist, 646 F.3d 1281, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 14390, 2011 WL 3243008 (10th Cir. 2011).

Opinion

SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge.

Curtis McCarty brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against Joyce Gilchrist, former forensic chemist for the Oklahoma City Police Department (OCPD), William Citty, OCPD Chief of Police, and the city of Oklahoma City. McCarty’s complaint alleged constitutional violations and damages under theories of malicious prosecution, municipal liability for failure to train or supervise, and supervisor liability for failure to train or supervise. McCarty appeals from the district court’s adverse grant of summary judgment, and we affirm.

*1283 I.

In 1986, McCarty was charged in Oklahoma state court with the first-degree murder of eighteen-year-old Pam Willis. After a jury trial, McCarty was convicted and sentenced to death. McCarty appealed, and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (OCCA) reversed. McCarty v. State, 765 P.2d 1215, 1222 (Okla.Crim.App. 1988). Specifically, the OCCA held that the State deprived McCarty of a “fair and adequate opportunity to have critical hair evidence examined by an independent forensic expert” and of an accurate forensic report necessary for intelligent cross-examination. Id. at 1217-18. In addition, the OCCA found that Gilchrist testified beyond the limitations of forensic science when she stated that McCarty was physically present during the murder. Id. at 1218-19. Gilchrist also testified without personal knowledge that the medical examiner had used certain procedures and had found a scalp hair consistent with McCarty’s hair in the victim’s chest wound. Id. at 1219-20. More improper testimony occurred when a police officer described an “extrajudicial experiment” he conducted. Id. at 1220. Finally, the OCCA held that various instances of prosecutorial misconduct occurred during the trial. Id. at 1220-21. Assistant District Attorney Barry Albert improperly criticized the Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office for recommending that McCarty receive only five years upon his entry of a guilty plea on a previous second-degree rape charge. Id. at 1221. Then, during closing argument, District Attorney Robert Macy commented on facts not in evidence, stated his personal views regarding McCarty’s guilt in front of the jury, attacked the credibility of defense counsel, and requested sympathy for the victims while urging the jury to impose the death penalty. Id. at 1220-21. Finding the record “replete with error,” the OCCA reversed McCarty’s conviction and remanded to the District Court of Oklahoma County for a new trial. Id. at 1222.

McCarty was retried in 1989. The jury again convicted McCarty of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death. On appeal, the OCCA affirmed the conviction but reversed the death sentence because the District Court of Oklahoma County had refused to instruct the jury on the alternative sentencing option of life imprisonment without parole. McCarty v. State, 904 P.2d 110, 129 (Okla.Crim.App.1995). The case was remanded for resentencing. Id. In 1996, McCarty was sentenced to death for the third time, and the OCCA affirmed. McCarty v. State, 977 P.2d 1116, 1141 (Okla.Crim.App.1998).

McCarty then applied to the OCCA for postconviction relief, alleging that the informants who testified against him were unreliable, that the criticism of Macy’s trial practices in various judicial opinions showed that his conviction was inherently unreliable, and that his counsel had been ineffective. McCarty v. State, 989 P.2d 990, 993-96 (Okla.Crim.App.1999). The OCCA denied his application. Id. at 996.

In 2001, the FBI launched an investigation into Gilchrist’s forensic work, this court concluded Gilchrist had fabricated evidence in Mitchell v. Gibson, 262 F.3d 1036 (10th Cir.2001), and Gilchrist was fired. See Pierce v. Gilchrist, 359 F.3d 1279, 1283-84 (10th Cir.2004) (providing an overview of Gilchrist’s improper actions as an OCPD forensic chemist). As a result, McCarty again applied to the OCCA for postconviction relief. McCarty v. State, 114 P.3d 1089 (Okla.Crim.App.2005). This time, the State consented to an evidentiary hearing on McCarty’s petition because the allegations centered on Gilchrist and her “now notorious actions.” Id. at 1090 & n. 1. The OCCA thus remanded the case to the District Court of Oklahoma County for an evidentiary hearing. Id. at 1090 & n. 3. *1284 The District Court of Oklahoma County found that Gilchrist “most likely lost or intentionally destroyed” exculpatory or inculpatory evidence, “provided flawed laboratory analysis and documentation of her work,” gave expert testimony that “exceeded the acceptable limits of forensic science,” and “altered lab reports and handwritten notes” to hide her actions. Id. at 1092. Based on these findings, the District Court of Oklahoma County concluded that McCarty did not receive a fair trial in 1989 and submitted this recommendation to the OCCA. Id. The OCCA agreed, holding that “Gilchrist’s actions alone warrant a new trial” and reversing McCarty’s conviction. Id. at 1094-95. The OCCA declined to dismiss the charges against McCarty outright, however, finding that reasonable minds could differ on the question of McCarty’s guilt. Id. at 1095. “While the revelations relating to Ms. Gilchrist are clearly damaging to this largely circumstantial case, they are not necessarily fatal.” Id., cert. denied, 546 U.S. 1020, 126 S.Ct. 660, 163 L.Ed.2d 534 (2005). Accordingly, the OCCA remanded the case to the District Court of Oklahoma County for a new trial. Id. at 1094-95.

On remand, the District Court of Oklahoma County held a hearing on May 10-11, 2007, to discuss the status of the case and to rule on the parties’ various pre-trial motions. At the close of the hearing, the court found that in 2000, Gilchrist had intentionally destroyed the potentially exculpatory hair evidence recovered from the victim’s chest and inside the victim’s chest wound. The court concluded that this finding required dismissal of the charges against McCarty. See Hogan v. State, 877 P.2d 1157 (Okla.Crim.App.1994) (adopting Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51, 109 S.Ct. 333, 102 L.Ed.2d 281 (1988), which holds that the intentional destruction of potentially exculpatory evidence by law enforcement is a due process violation). McCarty was released from prison after spending almost 19 years on death row.

McCarty brought a civil suit under § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma on the theories of malicious prosecution, 2 municipal liability for failure to train or supervise, and supervisor liability for failure to train or supervise.

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646 F.3d 1281, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 14390, 2011 WL 3243008, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccarty-v-gilchrist-ca10-2011.