Justices Make It Easier to Sue Bad Prosecutors, Police (2)

The justices June 20 gave plaintiffs more time to sue prosecutors and police who fabricate evidence in criminal trials.

The Supreme Court ruled that the clock to file such a claim doesn’t begin to run until the trial ends in the defendant’s favor—not, as the lower court held, when the evidence is first used against the defendant.

“It’s not uncommon that there are claims of withholding of evidence or fabrication of evidence,” said Karyn Bass Ehler, the former chief of the Illinois Attorney General’s civil rights bureau. Bass Ehler, now with Grant & Eisenhofer in Chicago, called the court’s decision ...