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Civil rights Keyed to Jeffries, 5th Ed.
Robertson v. Wegmann
Citation:
436 U.S. 584 (1978)Facts
In 1969, Clay Shaw was tried and acquitted in Louisiana state court on charges of conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy. Shortly after his acquittal, Shaw was arrested on perjury charges related to his testimony at the conspiracy trial. Shaw filed a § 1983 action in federal court alleging that these prosecutions were undertaken in bad faith. The defendants included District Attorney Jim Garrison and Willard Robertson, who allegedly provided financial support to Garrison’s investigation. The District Court enjoined the perjury prosecution, finding it was brought in bad faith. While discovery continued in the damages action, Shaw died in August 1974. Edward Wegmann, the executor of Shaw’s estate, moved to be substituted as plaintiff. The defendants moved to dismiss, arguing that under Louisiana law, the action abated upon Shaw’s death since Shaw was not survived by a spouse, children, parents, or siblings as required by the state survivorship statute.
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