Opinion ID: 572159
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Perjury and Conspiracy to Present Perjured Testimony

Text: 34 Miller also argues that the district court should not have dismissed several of his § 1983 claims related to the prior state court proceeding in which he was convicted of criminal battery on Officer Ramsey. Miller's amended complaint entitles one of these claims False Imprisonment and/or Malicious Prosecution. However, the complaint's language essentially alleges that defendants Ramsey, Bagby, Bates, Harris, Beasley, and Nurse Jane Doe procured plaintiff's battery conviction by giving false or contradictory testimony at trial. In Briscoe v. LaHue, 460 U.S. 325, 103 S.Ct. 1108, 75 L.Ed.2d 96 (1983), the Supreme Court established that all witnesses--police officers as well as other lay witnesses--are absolutely immune from civil liability under § 1983 based on their testimony in a prior trial. Therefore, Miller's amended complaint fails to state a cause of action based on the alleged perjury. 35 In addition, Miller's amended complaint alleges that these same defendants--as well as Captain Cherry--violated his civil rights by conspiring to give false testimony. The First and Second Circuits have held that the immunity allowed in Briscoe should not extend to conspiracies to present false testimony. Malachowski v. City of Keene, 787 F.2d 704 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 828, 107 S.Ct. 107, 93 L.Ed.2d 56 (2d Cir.1986); San Filippo v. U.S. Trust Co. of New York, Inc., 737 F.2d 246 (1984), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1035, 105 S.Ct. 1408, 84 L.Ed.2d 797 (1985). The Sixth and Seventh Circuits, on the other hand, have extended Briscoe immunity to alleged conspiracies to commit perjury. Wilkins v. May, 872 F.2d 190, 192 (7th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1026, 110 S.Ct. 733, 107 L.Ed.2d 752 (1990); Alioto v. City of Shively, Kentucky, 835 F.2d 1173, 1174 (6th Cir.1987). We agree with the Sixth and Seventh Circuits, and we hold that Miller fails to state a conspiracy claim because defendants are absolutely immune from civil liability. 36 When resolving issues of absolute immunity, we take a functional approach and consider factors such as recognition of immunity at common law, the risk of vexatious litigation given the function involved, and the availability of checks other than civil litigation if absolute immunity was recognized. Robinson v. Volkswagenwerk AG, 940 F.2d 1369, 1370-71 (10th Cir.1991). At common law, no cause of action was available for conspiracy to give or to procure perjured testimony. 6 Further, we find nothing in the legislative history of the Civil Rights Act of 1871 suggesting that Congress intended to provide a cause of action for conspiracy to commit perjury in order to obtain a criminal conviction. See Briscoe, 460 U.S. at 340, 103 S.Ct. at 1118 (Civil Rights Act of 1871 created federal claim for conspiracy to commit perjury aimed at procuring unjust acquittals). 37 In Briscoe, the Court acknowledged that granting police officers immunity from civil liability might lead to occasional unjust convictions based on knowingly false testimony. Id. at 344-45, 103 S.Ct. at 1120-21. However, the Court--forced to find  'a balance between the evils inevitable in either alternative' --determined that immunity would better serve the broader public interest. Id. at 345, 103 S.Ct. at 1120 (quoting Gregoire v. Biddle, 177 F.2d 579, 581 (2d Cir.1949), cert. denied, 339 U.S. 949, 70 S.Ct. 803, 94 L.Ed. 1363 (1950)). In particular, the Court reasoned that 38 [p]olice officers testify in scores of cases every year, and defendants often will transform resentment at being convicted into allegations of perjury by the State's official witnesses.... [E]ven the processing of a complaint that is dismissed before trial consumes a considerable amount of time and resources. 39 This category of § 1983 litigation might well impose significant burdens on the judicial system and on law enforcement resources. As this Court noted when it recognized absolute immunity for prosecutors in Imbler, if the defendant official 'could be made to answer in court each time [a disgruntled defendant] charged him with wrongdoing, his energy and attention would be diverted from the pressing duty of enforcing the criminal law.'  40 Id. 460 U.S. at 343-44, 103 S.Ct. at 1119-20 (quoting Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 425, 96 S.Ct. 984, 992, 47 L.Ed.2d 128 (1976)) (alteration in original). Allowing criminal defendants to seek damages under § 1983 for conspiracy among state witnesses to offer false testimony would give rise to the same systemic concerns noted in Briscoe. Instead of suing state witnesses for perjured testimony, a defendant could simply transform the perjury complaint into an allegation of a conspiracy to do the same. Moreover, an extension of Briscoe prevents self-censorship on the part of witnesses due to the fear of civil liability. Id. 460 U.S. at 333, 103 S.Ct. at 1114. 41 Most importantly, in Briscoe, the Court pointed to various truth-finding safeguards of the judicial process that decrease the likelihood that perjured testimony will significantly harm or alter a just outcome at trial. Id. at 344-45, 103 S.Ct. at 1120-21. These safeguards also apply to attempted conspiracies to give perjured testimony. At trial, the co-conspirator witness subsequently must take an oath, be subjected to cross-examination, and be scrutinized for credibility by the trier of fact. See id. at 342, 103 S.Ct. at 1119. Therefore, after employing the functional approach, we must conclude that the defendants are entitled to immunity under the circumstances of this case. 42 Our holding does not change the fact that such conspirators may be liable criminally for conspiring to procure perjured testimony. See Okla.Stat. tit. 21, §§ 421, 491; see also Briscoe, 460 U.S. at 339 n. 22, 103 S.Ct. at 1117 n. 22 (witnesses were traditionally subject to a prosecution ... 'for conspiracy in case of a combination of two or more to give false evidence' ) (quoting M. Newell, Law of Defamation, Libel and Slander § 44, at 450 (1890)). Further, although potential conspirators are immune from civil liability, a defendant still may challenge an allegedly unjust conviction in habeas corpus proceedings. 43 In short, we conclude that the extension of absolute immunity from civil liability to those who allegedly conspire to present perjured testimony in furtherance of a criminal conviction serves the same important purposes of immunity to witnesses themselves. Confident in the safeguards inherent in the  'crucible of the judicial process,'  Briscoe, 460 U.S. at 334, 103 S.Ct. at 1115 (quoting Imbler, 424 U.S. at 440, 96 S.Ct. at 999), we strike a difficult balance in favor of immunity. 44