The criminal case and the civil case
Most police abuse cases begin with a criminal charge against the person who was abused, and what happens to that charge controls the civil case. A conviction or a plea that stands can bar a damages claim that would contradict it. A dismissal starts the malicious prosecution clock. The New York notice of claim runs from the arrest no matter what the criminal court does. And the 50-h examination can be demanded while the charge is still open. This page goes through each interaction, and why the two cases have to be handled together from the first week.
Two cases come out of one arrest. The criminal case is the state against you, on the officer's account of what happened. The civil case is you against the officer, on the record of what actually happened. They share the facts, the witnesses and the footage, and they run on different clocks in different courts under different rules. This firm handles both, and this page is the reason: nearly every mistake that closes a civil claim is made in the criminal case, usually in the first weeks and usually without anyone knowing it. The mechanism is below, in order.
The Heck bar: a conviction that stands closes the claims that contradict it
Under Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994), a Section 1983 damages claim that would necessarily imply the invalidity of a conviction is barred unless the conviction has been reversed, expunged, invalidated, or called into question by a writ of habeas corpus. The rule is about consistency. A civil court will not award damages on a theory that the criminal court got it wrong while the criminal court's judgment stands.
Which claims the bar reaches depends on what each claim would have to prove. A malicious prosecution claim says the charge lacked probable cause, so a conviction on that charge closes it. A fabricated evidence claim says the case was built on invented evidence, so a conviction that rests on that evidence closes it. A false arrest claim says the officer lacked probable cause at the moment of arrest, which does not always contradict a later conviction but can, especially where the conviction is for resisting or obstructing the arrest itself. An excessive force claim is about what the officer did, not whether you were guilty, and whether it contradicts a particular conviction is a question answered from the plea papers. None of these is answered by this page; each is answered by a lawyer with the court file, and the point is that the answer is known before the criminal case resolves, not discovered after.
Prospective relief is not barred: Olivier
On March 20, 2026, in Olivier v. City of Brandon, No. 24-993, 607 U.S. ___ (2026), a unanimous Supreme Court held that Heck does not bar a Section 1983 suit seeking purely prospective relief despite a prior conviction under the same ordinance. A person who wants a court to stop a law from being enforced against them in the future is not asking to undo the conviction. The damages claim still waits; the request for an injunction does not.
What lifts the bar
The routes are the ones Heck names: reversal on appeal, expungement, invalidation, or a habeas ruling. The wrongful conviction page goes through what happens on the civil side when a conviction falls, and when the clock starts.
Why a plea can close a claim
A plea to a lesser charge, or to a violation offered to end the case, can have the same effect as a conviction for Heck purposes. The offer to plead to disorderly conduct in exchange for time served is made early, often at arraignment, to a person who wants to go home, and it is the single most common way a civil claim is closed before anyone has evaluated it. The plea is sometimes the right decision. It is never the right decision made without knowing what it costs.
| Criminal outcome | Malicious prosecution | False arrest | Notice of claim (NY, state-law claims) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acquittal or dismissal | The case ended without a conviction; favorable termination is satisfied (Thompson v. Clark, 596 U.S. 36 (2022)); clock starts | Unaffected; clock started at arraignment (Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384 (2007)) | Arrest claims: 90 days from the arrest. Prosecution claim: 90 days from the dismissal |
| ACD | Ended without a conviction; whether it is a favorable termination is not resolved in our ledger and not published here | Unaffected | Same |
| Plea | Closed as to the charge pleaded to while the conviction stands (Heck); separate dismissed charges are a question for a lawyer | May be closed, depending on what the claim would have to prove | Still due 90 days from the arrest; the notice does not wait |
| Conviction after trial | Closed while it stands (Heck); reopens on reversal, expungement, invalidation or habeas | Same question as a plea | Still due 90 days from the arrest |
| Still pending | Not yet accrued; cannot be brought | Accrued at arraignment; clock running (Wallace) | Due 90 days from the arrest, while the case is open |
The ACD: what we do and do not publish
An adjournment in contemplation of dismissal ends a New York criminal case without a conviction, so it does not raise the Heck bar. Whether it is a favorable termination for a malicious prosecution claim, federal or state, is a question our verified ledger does not resolve, and we do not publish an answer on this site. We answer it for a particular case from the court file and the current decisions, before the ACD is accepted. If you have been offered one, that is the moment to ask.
The clocks do not wait for the criminal court
The criminal case decides which claims exist. It does not decide when their clocks run, and the two rules point in opposite directions.
The false arrest clock starts at arraignment
A Section 1983 false arrest claim accrues when you are detained pursuant to legal process, at arraignment or the like, not when the criminal case ends, and Heck does not delay it (Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384 (2007)). In New York the claim then has three years (Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235 (1989); N.Y. CPLR 214(5)). A person whose criminal case takes two years has one year left on the arrest claim when it ends.
The prosecution clock starts when the case ends
A malicious prosecution claim requires that the case "ended without a conviction" (Thompson v. Clark, 596 U.S. 36 (2022)), and a fabricated-evidence claim accrues on the favorable termination of the criminal case, not when the fabrication is discovered (McDonough v. Smith, 588 U.S. 109 (2019)). Those claims cannot be brought while the case is open, so their three years begin the day it closes. The Fourth Amendment governs the detention in between, where it rests on fabricated evidence (Manuel v. City of Joliet, 580 U.S. 357 (2017)).
The notice of claim runs from the arrest, whatever the criminal court does
A state-law claim against the City of New York or another municipality requires a notice of claim "within ninety days after the claim arises" (N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 50-e(1)(a)). For false arrest, assault and battery, the claim arises on the day of the incident, and the 90 days run while the criminal case is open. For malicious prosecution the claim arises on the favorable termination, so that notice has its own 90 days from the dismissal. Suit must be commenced within one year and 90 days (§ 50-i(1)). The federal claims need no notice at all (Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131 (1988)). The rule is to serve the notice within 90 days of the arrest, for every claim, and decide the rest when the criminal case is over. It costs nothing to serve and nothing to abandon. The notice of claim page goes through it, and the deadline tool counts the dates.
The 50-h examination while a charge is pending
Once the notice of claim is served, the municipality may, within 90 days, demand that the claimant appear for an examination under oath about the claim (N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 50-h). If the claimant fails to appear, the state-law action cannot proceed until the examination is held; if the municipality demands it but does not hold it within 90 days of the demand, the claimant may sue without it. Because the notice is due within 90 days of the arrest, the demand for the examination usually arrives while the criminal charge is still open.
How it is handled
The examination is sworn testimony about the same events as the criminal charge, taken by a lawyer for the City, transcribed, and usable later. A person with an open charge does not sit for it until the civil lawyer and the defense lawyer have decided how, and it can often be adjourned until the criminal case resolves. That decision is made before the date. The same is true of every other statement: the CCRB complaint, the conversation with the desk sergeant, the post online. Nothing is said or signed about the arrest, and no officer is named in writing, until both lawyers have agreed. The CCRB page covers how a complaint to the Board, which the Board treats as late after a year and which must lead to discipline within 18 months of the incident, is timed around an open charge.
Coordination with defense counsel
The civil case is handled with the criminal case in view, and the criminal case with the civil case in view, which in practice means four things. The plea decision is made knowing which civil claims it closes. The evidence is requested once, early, for both cases: the body-worn camera footage by FOIL, with a written request for preservation, the 911 recording, the surveillance video. The client gives no statement about the arrest to anyone until both lawyers agree. And the notice of claim goes out within 90 days regardless, describing every claim, because it costs nothing and the criminal case will not be over in time. Where this firm is not defense counsel, we work with the lawyer who is, and we take no statement without them. Where a charge is pending, the person with the charge talks to their defense lawyer first, before describing the arrest to anyone, including us.
One more distinction belongs here. A statement taken without Miranda warnings may be kept out of the criminal case, but under Vega v. Tekoh, 597 U.S. 134 (2022), the missing warning is not itself a constitutional violation actionable under Section 1983. A suppression win in the criminal case is not a civil claim. A confession an officer wrote and you never gave is; the fabricated evidence page covers it.
The full firm, including the criminal defense practice that handles the charge that came out of the same arrest. The two cases are run from one office.
Go to usherlegal.com →
myimmigrationplea.comWhat a criminal plea does to immigration status, before you take it. For a noncitizen the plea decision has a third case to account for.
Go to myimmigrationplea.com →
When the case ends without a conviction
Favorable termination after Thompson, charge by charge after Chiaverini, and the notice that runs from the dismissal.
Malicious prosecution →The arrest itself
Probable cause, the defenses, and the clock that starts at arraignment.
False arrest →The 90-day notice of claim
What goes in it, where it goes, the 50-h examination, and late notice.
Notice of claim →Common questions
Should I wait until the criminal case is over to call a civil rights lawyer?
No. The New York notice of claim is due 90 days after the arrest, while the criminal case is almost always still open, and the evidence that decides both cases is requested in the first weeks. Calling early does not mean suing early. It means the notice is served, the footage is requested, and the plea decision is made knowing what it does to the civil claim. The conversation happens with your defense lawyer involved.
My defense lawyer says to take the ACD. What does that do to the civil case?
An ACD ends the case without a conviction, so it does not raise the Heck v. Humphrey bar the way a plea does. Whether an ACD is a favorable termination for a malicious prosecution claim is a question our verified ledger does not resolve, and we do not publish an answer. It is answered with the court file, and it is answered before the ACD is accepted, not after.
What is Heck v. Humphrey, in one sentence?
A Section 1983 damages claim that would necessarily imply that a conviction was invalid cannot be brought while the conviction stands; it can be brought once the conviction has been reversed, expunged, invalidated or called into question by habeas. It applies to a plea as it does to a verdict. It does not delay a false arrest claim, whose clock starts at arraignment regardless.
The City wants to examine me under oath while my charge is pending. Do I have to go?
The 50-h examination is a condition of the state-law claims: if you do not appear, that lawsuit cannot proceed until you do. But it is sworn testimony about the same events as the charge, and it is not sat for while a charge is open without both lawyers deciding how. It can often be adjourned until the criminal case resolves. Ask before the date, not on it.
Tell us what happened.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which claims the facts support, which deadline runs first for the agency involved, what evidence to preserve this week, and whether a pending criminal case changes the timing. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510If a criminal charge is still open, talk to your defense lawyer before you describe the arrest to anyone, including us. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language. Contingency fee, confirmed in writing before we begin.