Tinner v. San Juan County

District Court, W.D. Washington·Decided July 21, 2020·No. 2:19-cv-00925·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE GERALD TINNER, CASE NO. C19-925 MJP Plaintiff, ORDER 1. MOTION TO v. SUPPLEMENT RECORD 2. DEFENDANTS’ MOTION SAN JUAN COUNTY, et al., FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT Defendants. The above-entitled Court, having received and reviewed: 1. Defendants Krebs and San Juan County’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. No. 27), Plaintiff’s Consolidated Response (Dkt. No. 40), Defendants Krebs and San Juan County’s Reply to Plaintiff’s Response to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. No. 49); 2. Defendant Parker’s Motion and Memorandum of Authorities Supporting Summary Judgment Dismissal (Dkt. No. 30), Defendant Parker’s Reply Brief Supporting Summary Judgment Dismissal and Motion to Strike (Dkt. No. 51); 3. Plaintiff’s Motion to Supplement Record (Dkt. No. 66), Defendant Parker’s Response (Dkt. No. 70), Defendants Krebs and San Juan County’s Response (Dkt. No. 74), and Plaintiff’s Reply (Dkt. No. 75); all attached declarations and exhibits, relevant portions of the record, and having heard oral

argument, rules as follows: IT IS ORDERED that the motion to supplement the record is DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the summary judgment motions are GRANTED; this matter is hereby DISMISSED with prejudice. Background While what actually transpired between Plaintiff Gerald Tinner, Natalia Garcia, and Defendant Stephen Parker will likely forever remain a mystery to the public at large, the facts as they are relevant to the disposition of this case are essentially undisputed: Plaintiff, a teacher at Orcas Island High School, was charged with violations of RCW 9A.44.093, two felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor related to allegations brought

by his then 19-year-old student teaching assistant (Natalia Garcia; hereinafter, “Ms. Garcia”). Dkt. No. 28, Decl. of Cooley, Ex. A. The crime is a statutory sexual offense; i.e., consent or lack thereof is not an element of the crime. The investigating officer was Defendant Stephen Parker, at the time a San Juan County Sheriff’s Deputy. Dkt. No. 3, Amended Complaint, ¶ 3.10. At trial, the primary evidence against Plaintiff consisted of the testimony of Ms. Garcia and two pieces of physical evidence – a pair of Ms. Garcia’s underwear and a tissue with which Ms. Garcia claimed to have wiped herself after a sexual encounter with Plaintiff. DNA and sperm from both items of evidence were tested by the Washington State Police Crime Lab and the results were a match to a sample of Plaintiff’s DNA collected and submitted by Defendant

Parker. Dkt. No. 29, Decl. of Uhrich, Exs. A-D. In addition to Ms. Garcia, both Plaintiff and Defendant Parker testified and were cross-examined. The physical evidence cited supra was admitted without objection as to either chain of custody or admissibility. Decl. of Cooley, Testimony of Parker, Ex. H at 171, 176. The trial court granted the State’s motion in limine to

exclude references to or questions regarding any sexual relationships of the victim with other people. Id., Ex. K, L. The jury found Plaintiff guilty on both counts. Id., Exs. J, M. Following the trial but prior to sentencing, allegations surfaced from Ms. Garcia regarding a sexual relationship with Defendant Parker which had commenced within weeks of the beginning of the investigation and continued through the trial. Amended Complaint, ¶ 3.32. Additionally, an employee of the county prosecutor’s office (Ms. Miller, the county’s Victim Service Advocate) advised that Parker had told her he believed that Ms. Garcia “set people up.” Id. at ¶ 3.34. Defendant Parker has subsequently denied making any such statement or holding such opinion, and denied engaging in any sexual relationship with Ms. Garcia. Dkt. No. 31, Decl. of McMahon, Deposition of Parker, Ex. 1 at 47, 72. An internal investigation by the SJC

Sheriff’s Department concluded that Parker had a sexual relationship with Ms. Garcia. Dkt. No. 41, Decl. of Power, Ex. D. Following the revelations regarding Defendant Parker and Ms. Garcia, Plaintiff’s trial counsel moved for a new trial, citing not only the undisclosed relationship between Parker and Ms. Garcia and the undisclosed statement regarding a “set-up,” but also a list of other information not provided to Plaintiff’s criminal counsel prior to trial. The motion was granted on Brady grounds (based on two undisclosed pieces of evidence: the “set-up” comment and the fact that Ms. Garcia had vacillated about whether she would testify against Plaintiff), the conviction was vacated, and a new trial ordered. Decl. of Power, Ex. A, Transcript of June 15, 2016 San

Juan County Superior Court hearing. The State initially appealed the grant of a new trial, but later withdrew the appeal. After the appeal was remanded to Superior Court, the trial judge dismissed the charges against Plaintiff completely, insulating him from further criminal prosecution. Amended Complaint, ¶ 3.53. Defendant Parker resigned from the SJC Sheriff’s

Department and left the area. In June of 2019, Plaintiff initiated this lawsuit against Parker, San Juan County Sheriff Krebs, and San Juan County itself. Dkt. No. 3, Amended Complaint. The complaint alleged causes of action for: 1. Due process violations (a/k/a “Brady violations”) pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (all Defendants) 2. Monell claim for violation of due process rights (Defendants SJC and Krebs) 3. Conspiracy claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Defendant Parker) 4. Negligence (all Defendants) 5. Outrage (all Defendants)

Id., pp. 10-14. Defendants have moved for summary judgment dismissing all claims. After the summary judgment motions came ripe, Plaintiff filed a motion to supplement the record. Discussion Motion to Supplement the Record Over three months after Defendants’ summary judgment motions came ripe, Plaintiff has filed a motion to supplement the record with deposition testimony from San Juan County’s Victim Service Advocate, Ms. Miller, and also from Ms. Garcia. Dkt. Nos. 66, 67.

The motion is without merit for two reasons. First, Plaintiff never filed a motion with this Court under FRCP 56(d), which is the proper vehicle for a party wishing to place responsive evidence not currently in its possession before the court. Plaintiff never claimed, prior to the filing of the motion to supplement the record, that the depositions of Ms. Miller and Ms. Garcia

were necessary to present facts essential to opposing Defendants’ summary judgment motions. Second, the means by which Plaintiff has chosen to attempt to present the additional evidence permits Defendants no opportunity to respond to the substance of the testimony, either with evidence of their own or with legal argument. The Court will not exercise its discretion to permit this subversion of the advocacy process. The motion to supplement the record is DENIED. Summary Judgment Motions Standard of review “The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.

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