Waeschle v. Dragovic, No. 08-2228

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action against a county Medical Examiner for depriving plaintiff of her right to dispose of her deceased mother's brain (removed in an autopsy and later incinerated as medical waste), denial of defendant's motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity is reversed where plaintiff had no clearly established property right in the brain because it was removed and retained for study in furtherance of a lawful criminal investigation.

Read Waeschle v. Dragovic, No. 08-2228

Appellate Information

Argued: June 16, 2009

Decided and Filed: July 22, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Gilman

Counsel

For Appellant:

William H. Horton, Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton, P.C., Troy, MI

For Appellee:

Patrick J. Perotti, Dworken Bernstein Co., LPA, Painesville, OH

For Amici Curiae:

Steven M. Jentzen, Steven M. Jentzen, P.C., Ypsilanti, MI