Facts

In 1995, plaintiff Peter Rose was convicted of raping and kidnapping a 13-year-old girl. He was found guilty of striking the girl in the face, then forcing her into an alley where he committed the rape. He was sentenced to 27 years imprisonment.

In 2004, the California Innocence Project accepted plaintiff's case. A DNA test of the semen found in the girl's undergarments revealed no traces of plaintiff's semen. Plaintiff was exonerated from all charges. At the time he was released from prison, he had served almost 10 years.

Plaintiff filed an action against defendants state of California, city of Lodi and county of San Joaquin, alleging violations of his civil rights related to his false imprisonment.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The City of Lodi investigators who interviewed the alleged victim used a coercive, interrogative technique which they knew or should have known would result in a false identification. The girl had not been able to identify the perpetrator, but after the interrogation stated that "it could have been Pete." Further, the state's crime lab technician failed to comply with standard protocol in the testing of serology samples. The County of San Joaquin appointed incompetent defense counsel and the prosecutor misled the alleged victim into believing that they had independent evidence linking the plaintiff to the crime.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The City of Lodi argued that the investigation was properly conducted. The county contended that the appointed counsel was qualified and entitled to immunity. Further, at the time of the incident all standards were appropriately followed by the technician. Defendant state did concede that plaintiff should be exonerated pursuant to the DNA test results.

Damages

Plaintiff claimed an unspecified amount for compensatory and punitive damages.

Injuries

Plaintiff served 3,280 days in prison.

Result

The parties reached a $1 million settlement. Defendant city contributed $625,000, defendant state contributed $275,000, and defendant county contributed $100,000. Of the total amount, $75,000 was paid to each of the three plaintiff children.