Shannon McKinnon

Shannon McKinnon has owned the Green Elephant for decades, building it into a premier venue for underground and dance music. While it’s been loved by generations of SMU students, a real estate business located across the street doesn’t feel the same way. In August 2019, it saw an opportunity to get rid of its neighbor.

In August 2019, there were shots fired outside the bar. After the shooting, McKinnon called the police and recovered some shell casings that were promptly turned over. Neither McKinnon nor any of his employees were involved in the incident.

Detective Hernandez was not assigned to investigate the incident but had been tipped off to it by the real estate business, for which he had worked a side job for years. Hiding this obvious conflict, Hernandez first tried to get the relevant detectives to press charges against McKinnon and one of his security employees, who was also in law enforcement.

When that failed, Hernandez went directly to prosecutors. Using false statements, he convinced them to press felony charges for “tampering with evidence.” After years in court, McKinnon’s co-defendant’s case came to trial in 2022. That, again, was where Hernandez was forced to reveal that he had a financial relationship with the real estate company going back years.

False arrest and malicious prosecution violate the U.S. Constitution and Texas law, but Hernandez moved to dismiss McKinnon’s suit claiming immunity. When the district court denied immunity to the detective on the Texas law claims, he appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Institute for Justice asks the Supreme Court to let McKinnon’s case move forward at the district court before appeals are considered.