I'm our test case

Immunity

The police are only entitled to immunity if the law is a grey area. No grey area here. See St John v McColley from the Tenth Circuit in New Mexico. The court decided that a single case from 30 years ago was sufficient notice the police should have known their actions fell outside the law.

4sooth said:

The police are only entitled to immunity if the law is a grey area. No grey area here. See St John v McColley from the Tenth Circuit in New Mexico. The court decided that a single case from 30 years ago was sufficient notice the police should have known their actions fell outside the law.

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While I agree with the general idea, St. John v. McColly, 653 F. Supp. 2d 1155 (D.N.M. 2009), is not the case one should use. First, it is a district court case and not very useful for precedent, second, it is in the 10th Circuit and not binding on either Texas or the 5th Circuit. Finally, the case isn't really on point -- it deals with a state where open carry is legal, vs. Texas, where it is not.

I would instead look for other caselaw. Actually, I would get an attorney to research it.

Mustang is correct about there being no civil case against the police. He voluntarily visited with the detective, he was never detained or arrested by any officer. As far as the warrant, anybody can make a sworn complaint that they have reason to believe and do believe that a crime has been committed. This gives a magistrate probable cause to issue a warrant. At this point the issuing of the warrant has been ex parte as the accused is not present. The purpose of the warrant is to bring the accused before the magistrate so that an examining trial can be had to determine if sufficient probable cause exists. Anybody swearing out that complaint is immune from suit, unless upon cross examination the person admits to lying for a malicious purpose. Looking at it from the other side of the coin, if my neighbor tells me that someone is threatening to kill him but he is scared to report it because of retaliation, I can swear out the complaint with second hand knowledge. If everyone was liable for financial damages when reporting a crime in good faith a majority of crime would go unreported.

It is possible to go after the magistrate for the fact that he subverted due process by failing to hold an examining trial while still finding probable cause to commit you to jail, even though you were only there for 2 hours. However, the case would have to be done pro se on your part because there isn't an attorney around that wants that brand on his forehead.