*The HONORABLE RICHARD H. BATTEY, United States District Judge for

the District of South Dakota, sitting by designation.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 00-2049

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LaVern Thomas Cota, *

*

Plaintiff - Appellant, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* District of Minnesota

Daniel Chapa; Stan Leach; Minnesota * 

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Defendants - Appellees. *

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Submitted: December 15, 2000

Filed: February 2, 2001

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Before LOKEN and MAGILL, Circuit Judges, and BATTEY,* District Judge.

___________

PER CURIAM.

In December 1996, Lavern Thomas Cota was arrested pursuant to a criminal

complaint charging Cota and three others with a 1989 robbery and murder in rural Polk

County, Minnesota. The state court denied Cota’s motion to dismiss the complaint for

lack of probable cause after a hearing in January 1997. A superseding indictment was

issued in late February 1997; the state court denied Cota’s motion to dismiss the
1The HONORABLE JOHN R. TUNHEIM, United States District Judge for the

District of Minnesota.

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indictment for lack of probable cause in October. Trial commenced in February 1998.

The court denied Cota’s motion for acquittal at the close of the State’s evidence. The

jury acquitted him on all counts. Cota then brought this civil action against a Polk

County Deputy Sheriff, an Agent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension,

and the Bureau, alleging federal claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and numerous claims

under state law. The district court1 granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment

dismissing all claims. Cota appeals the dismissal of two § 1983 claims -- that he was

arrested without probable cause, and that he was subjected to unconstitutional postarrest interrogation.

The district court dismissed Cota’s Fourth Amendment claim of arrest without

probable cause on the ground that “collateral estoppel bars plaintiff from challenging

the state court’s findings with regard to the sufficiency of the evidence used to support

probable cause for his arrest.” See generally Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S. 90, 104-05

(1980). On appeal, Cota argues that he is challenging the “integrity” of the evidence

supporting probable cause, not the sufficiency of that evidence. But his discussion of

the issue belies that contention. After careful review of the sparce record on appeal,

we affirm the district court’s dismissal of this claim for the reasons stated in that court’s

Memorandum Opinion and Order. See 8th Cir. Rule 47B.

The district court dismissed Cota’s § 1983 claim challenging his post-arrest

interrogation on the ground that “the only remedy for a Miranda violation is the

exclusion from evidence of any compelled testimony arising therefrom.” That is clearly

the law of this Circuit. See Warren v. City of Lincoln, 864 F.2d 1436, 1442 (8th Cir.

1989) (en banc). To avoid that ruling, Cota argues on appeal that the interrogation

violated his Sixth Amendment rights because those rights had “attached” under

Michigan v. Jackson, 475 U.S. 625, 629-30 (1986), and that his due process rights
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were violated by the unconstitutionally coercive interrogation. The district court

observed that Cota, though represented by counsel, had failed to articulate which of his

constitutional rights had been violated. Thus, his new contentions on appeal were not

properly presented to the district court. In addition, the record on appeal does not

support his conclusory assertions of a Sixth Amendment violation or the use of

unconstitutionally coercive interrogation methods.

The judgment of the district court is affirmed.

A true copy.

Attest:

CLERK, U. S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.