Prosecutorial immunity is notoriously hard to overcome—so we're ecstatic to report that a Michigan appeals court ruled that Wayne County prosecutor Dennis M. Doherty is not entitled to immunity and must face a lawsuit for filing baseless felony charges against Robert Reeves—all because Reeves had the nerve to challenge the county’s civil forfeiture practices.
Reeves, a Black man, had his Chevy Camaro and $2,000 in cash seized despite never being charged with a crime. When he joined a lawsuit challenging those forfeitures, prosecutors hit back with charges for receiving and concealing stolen property—and asked the civil judge to pause Reeves’ civil suit while the criminal case played out.
The court tossed the criminal charges for lack of evidence. Undeterred, prosecutors recycled the same charges—again asking a judge to pause Reeves’ civil suit while the criminal case played out, using their own flimsy charges as a legal shield.
The appellate court reversed the trial court, holding that Doherty’s alleged conduct doesn’t qualify as quasi-judicial and therefore isn’t protected by absolute immunity. That’s no small feat—lawsuits like this are usually over before they begin.
The case is Reeves v. County of Wayne, Davidde Stella, and Dennis Doherty, No. 367444 (June 2025).