Texas Prosecutors, Sheriff Prevail in Abortion False Arrest Suit

A Texas county and its officials are immune from a false arrest and malicious prosecution lawsuit filed by a woman charged with murder after self-inducing an abortion, a federal trial court said.

A sheriff who directed the investigation culminating in Lizelle Gonzalez’s arrest and indictment was entitled to summary judgment because she hadn’t shown he directly participated in her arrest or was liable for his subordinates’ actions, the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas said Tuesday. Sheriff Rene Fuentes also was entitled to qualified immunity on Gonzalez’s malicious prosecution claim because there was no clearly established law ...