McKinnon v. Hernandez

Shannon McKinnon did the right thing when shots were fired outside the bar he owns in Dallas, Texas. He called the police, collected casings he found in the parking lot, and turned them over to the authorities.

But Shannon ended up being charged with a felony crime of “tampering with evidence” after a Dallas Police Department detective, Genaro Hernandez, inserted himself into the case even though it was not assigned to him.

The case fell apart when Detective Hernandez was forced to admit during a trial of McKinnon’s co-defendant that he had a hidden motivation for his investigation. Hernandez has been moonlighting for years for a neighboring real estate business that had a long-time grudge against McKinnon’s bar, the Green Elephant.

Prosecutors dropped the charges “in the interest of justice” and McKinnon sued Hernandez over the violation of his rights under the U.S. Constitution and Texas law. After the district court allowed many of McKinnon’s state claims to move forward, Hernandez appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

While most circuit courts would not have considered Hernandez’s appeal of the Texas claims until the conclusion of the case, the 5th Circuit took it up right away and dismissed McKinnon’s suit.

Such special avenues of appeal should be the exception, not the rule. The Institute for Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let McKinnon’s case move forward and stop giving government officials special legal rights. Courts shouldn’t be doing favors for officers who violate the law.