What are the elements of a malicious prosecution claim?

MultiRegion, United States of America

The following excerpt is from McGrier v. City of N.Y., No. 19-2665 (2nd Cir. 2021):

must establish the elements of a malicious prosecution claim under state law." Manganiello v. City of New York., 612 F.3d 149, 160-61 (2d Cir. 2010) (internal citations omitted). The elements of a malicious prosecution claim under New York law are "(1) the initiation or continuation of a criminal proceeding against plaintiff; (2) termination of the proceeding in plaintiff's favor; (3) lack of probable cause for commencing the proceeding; and (4) actual malice as a motivation for defendant's actions." Id. at 161 (internal quotation marks omitted).

"The existence of probable cause is a complete defense to a claim of malicious prosecution in New York, and indictment by a grand jury creates a presumption of probable cause. That presumption may be rebutted only by evidence that the indictment was procured by fraud, perjury, the suppression of evidence[,] or other police conduct undertaken in bad faith." Id. at 161-62 (alterations, citations, and internal quotation marks omitted). "Officers have probable cause when they have knowledge or reasonably trustworthy information of facts and circumstances that are sufficient to warrant a person of reasonable caution in the belief that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing a crime." Hernandez v. United States, 939 F.3d 191, 199 (2d Cir. 2019) (internal quotation marks omitted). In determining whether there was probable cause, we

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must consider the totality of the circumstances, reviewing "plainly exculpatory evidence alongside inculpatory evidence to ensure the court has a full sense of the evidence that led the officer to believe that there was probable cause to make an arrest." Stansbury v. Wertman, 721 F.3d 84, 93 (2d Cir. 2013) (internal quotation marks omitted). "[A]bsent circumstances that raise doubts as to the victim's veracity, a victim's identification is typically sufficient to provide probable cause." Id. at 90 (internal quotation marks omitted).

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