Howard L. Haupt v. T.D. Dillard, Robert Leonard Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department City of Las Vegas, Nevada and Clark County, Nevada

On November 27, 1987, seven-year-old Alexander Harris disappeared from the video game arcade at Whiskey Pete’s Hotel and Casino in Stateline, Nevada, where he had been left by his parents while they went to the casino to gamble. Approximately one month later, his body was discovered beneath a trailer on the casino grounds. An autopsy revealed that he had been murdered on or about the date of his disappearance.

Defendants Dillard and- Leonard, detectives with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, were assigned to investigate. After a two-month investigation, they obtained and executed a warrant for Haupt’s arrest, charging him with the kidnapping and murder of Alexander Harris. The case was tried to a jury, and Haupt was acquitted of all charges.

Following his acquittal, Haupt brought this action in federal district court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , claiming that during the course of their investigation and Haupt’s subsequent trial, the defendants violated his federal constitutional rights (a) to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, (b) to be free from malicious prosecution, and (c) to a fair and impartial trial. He also included claims under…