Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/23-50_n648.pdf
Page Number: 11

Cite as:  602 U. S. ____ (2024) 

1 

THOMAS, J., dissenting 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 23–50 
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JASCHA CHIAVERINI, ET AL., PETITIONERS 
v. CITY OF NAPOLEON, OHIO, ET AL. 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 
APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT 

[June 20, 2024] 

JUSTICE  THOMAS,  with  whom  JUSTICE  ALITO  joins,  dis-

senting. 

Jascha Chiaverini sued several city officials for damages 
under 42 U. S. C. §1983.  He alleged that they violated his
Fourth Amendment rights by subjecting him to a malicious 
prosecution.  I continue to adhere to my belief that a “mali-
cious  prosecution  claim  cannot  be  based  on  the  Fourth 
Amendment.”  Manuel v. Joliet, 580 U. S. 357, 378 (2017) 
(ALITO, J., joined by THOMAS, J., dissenting).  Accordingly,
I would affirm the dismissal of Chiaverini’s claim. 

To raise a successful claim under §1983, a plaintiff must
allege the deprivation of “rights, privileges, or immunities
secured” to him by the Constitution.  42 U. S. C. §1983.  “In 
order  to  flesh  out  the  elements  of  th[e  alleged]  constitu-
tional tort,” the Court generally analogizes to common-law 
torts.  Manuel, 580 U. S., at 378 (opinion of ALITO, J.); see 
also Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U. S. 477, 483–484 (1994).  In 
this  case,  Chiaverini  claims  that  he  was  seized  without 
probable  cause  in  violation  of  the  Fourth  Amendment. 
Chiaverini  principally  relies  on  this  Court’s  decision  in 
Thompson v. Clark, 596 U. S. 36 (2022), to argue that the 
appropriate tort analog for this claim is malicious prosecu-
tion.  In Thompson, the Court held that malicious prosecu-
tion,  a  tort  addressing  “the  wrongful  initiation  of  charges
without  probable  cause,”  is  most  analogous  to  a  Fourth