Opinion ID: 443256
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: LIABILITY FOR THE CONDUCT OF McCAULEY

Text: 313 Plaintiffs appeal the district court's holding that Milwaukee County cannot be held liable for the conduct of then District Attorney William McCauley. For the reasons set out this holding was proper. 314 Plaintiffs' second amended complaint added as named defendants Milwaukee County and the Office of Milwaukee County District Attorney, alleging that the acts of McCauley (who died in 1964) in assisting the cover-up constituted a custom or policy of defendants who are therefore liable for McCauley's participation in the conspiracy under Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611. The motion on behalf of Milwaukee County to dismiss the amended complaint was denied by the district court in an unpublished decision and order, Bell v. City of Milwaukee, No. 79-C-927 (Feb. 13, 1981). The district court also denied the County's motion for summary judgment, Bell II, 514 F.Supp. 1363, 1372. At the close of all the evidence, the court directed a verdict on this point in favor of Milwaukee County 79 on the ground that the evidence did not indicate that McCauley's conduct constituted a custom, policy, or practice of the County under Monell. The court also noted that the entity denominated by plaintiffs Office of the Milwaukee County District Attorney was not a proper party to the action. Finally, although not necessary to justify dismissal of the County, the court remarked that McCauley's conduct was related to his prosecutorial duties and is therefore entitled to absolute immunity under Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 96 S.Ct. 984, 47 L.Ed.2d 128. 315 At plaintiffs' request, the district court permitted McCauley's participation in the conspiracy to be determined by the jury in a special verdict to avoid a new trial in the event this Court reversed on the Monell issue. However, the court declined to submit a punitive damages question to the jury as to McCauley. After the verdict was returned plaintiffs moved for a partial new trial as to the liability of Milwaukee County and the Office of Milwaukee County District Attorney for punitive damages. The court declined the motion, reaffirming its application of Monell and noting that the inclusion of McCauley's name in the special verdict conspiracy question was a superfluity since none of the defendants could be held liable for McCauley's actions. Bell III, 536 F.Supp. 462, 471-472. 316 Plaintiffs appeal the finding of non-liability as to Milwaukee County, arguing that, inter alia, McCauley was an authoritative decision-maker for the County and that his conduct constituted a County custom, policy, or practice under Monell. This Court has acknowledged that at some level of authority, there must be an official whose acts reflect governmental policy, since the government necessarily acts through its agents. Reed v. Village of Shorewood, 704 F.2d 943, 953 (7th Cir.1983). Yet as the district court observed, McCauley's participation in the conspiracy was simply conduct in a single case. A custom, policy, or practice of a county under Monell cannot normally be inferred from a single incident of unconstitutional behavior of a district attorney. See Powe v. City of Chicago, 664 F.2d 639 (7th Cir.1981); Sterling v. Village of Maywood, 579 F.2d 1350 (7th Cir.1978), certiorari denied, 440 U.S. 913, 99 S.Ct. 1227, 59 L.Ed.2d 462. Plaintiffs presented no evidence that McCauley's conduct in the Bell matter was indicative of a multi-case pattern of unconstitutional activity on his part, or evidence linking his conduct with the policy of County officials. The district court's ruling on this issue is therefore affirmed. 317 Because Milwaukee County and the entity denominated Office of Milwaukee County District Attorney are not liable for McCauley's conduct, it is unnecessary to determine what level of immunity attaches to McCauley's conduct.