Modahl

MEMORANDUM *

This case involves three separate appeals which were consolidated by this court. Jeffrey Modahl spent 14 years in prison following his conviction in 1986 for sexually molesting his daughter. In 1999, Modahl successfully petitioned in state court for habeas corpus relief. The court determined that the non-disclosure of certain items of evidence undermined the confidence in the outcome of Modahl’s trial. Modahl was not retried.

Modahl brought an action for damages pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against various defendants, alleging that, while acting under color of state law, the defendants violated his rights under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The defendants include: the County of Kern, Kern Country District Attorney Edward Jagels, Kern County Sheriff Lawrence Kleier, Deputy Sheriff Conny Ericsson, Sheriff’s Sergeant Brad Darling; Kern County District Attorney Office’s Child Sexual Abuse Coordinator Carol Darling, and Kern County Welfare Department Child Protective Services worker Velda Murillo. Modahl’s *396 complaint alleged that the defendants (1) created false and unreliable testimony through coercive investigatory…