Operation Candy Crush (Rutherford County, Tenn) Without Probable Cause Says Sixth Circuit

Bloomberg …..Prosecutors and the sheriff of Rutherford County, Tenn., will face claims that they wrongly raided stores selling legal cannabidiol products after the Sixth Circuit denied the majority of their immunity arguments.

The raid, dubbed “Operation Candy Crush,” occurred on Feb. 12, 2018, and the store owners were arrested and charged with violating the state drug control act. All charges against the store owners were eventually dismissed.

The prosecutors aren’t immune because their alleged conduct —directing the sheriff’s office investigation, advising on the legality of the CBD products, and “propelling the officers to execute” the raid—occurred before the judicial phase and without probable cause, the court said.

The plaintiffs, 17 store owners, may proceed with their Fourth Amendment and equal protection claims against District Attorney Jennings Jones and Assistant District Attorney John Zimmerman, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said Friday.

The owners allege the defendants violated their Fourth Amendment rights against false arrest, unlawful seizure, and unlawful prosecution, and their right to equal protection by selectively targeting them “because they were small business owners, rather than large commercial operations such as Amazon or
Wal-Mart.”

Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh isn’t immune from claims of violating the store owners’ Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure because the complaint alleges that he knew or should have known that probable cause didn’t exist to arrest the plaintiffs, the court said.

But Fitzhugh is immune from the equal protection claims because the complaint doesn’t establish that he participated in the decision to selectively target the plaintiffs’ stores, the court said.

The plaintiffs allege that Jones and Zimmerman were aware members of the sheriff’s office questioned whether the CBD was actually illegal, and that forensic analysts at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation refused to label the products as illegal.

Nevertheless, Zimmerman urged the sheriff’s department to go ahead with the raid, the court said.

Judge Julia Smith Gibbons wrote the opinion, joined by Judges Raymond Kethledge and John K. Bush.

David Randolph Smith & Associates represents the store owners.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office represents Jones.

Neal and Harwell PC represents Zimmerman.

Hudson, Reed & McCreary PLLC represents Fitzhugh.

The case is Rieves v. Town of Smyrna, 6th Cir., No. 19-05319, 5/15/20.

Source:  https://news.bloomberglaw.com/white-collar-and-criminal-law/sheriff-not-immune-from-operation-candy-crush-cbd-raid-lawsuit

 

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NEWS REPORTS

Rutherford County sheriff, assistant DA could face trial following ‘Operation Candy Crush’

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A federal appeals court ruled the Rutherford County sheriff and the assistant district attorney could both face trial two years after the infamous “Operation Candy Crush” sting.

The judge found Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh and Rutherford County Assistant District Attorney John Zimmerman do not have immunity and can be tried for potential conspiracy.

In 2018, the assistant district attorney and Sheriff Fitzhugh gave the green light to “Operation Candy Crush.” The sting ended with orders for 23 businesses to close their doors after officials claimed products with CBD contained illegal ingredients.  A total of 17 store owners were also arrested.

More at  https://www.wkrn.com/news/rutherford-county-sheriff-assistant-da-could-face-trial-following-operation-candy-crush/

 

 

Judge denies immunity in Operation Candy Crush lawsuit

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s courts have still been at work. On Friday, a federal appeals court ruled in the lawsuit surrounding the controversial Operation Candy Crush Raid.

That court said the Rutherford County Sheriff and a prosecutor won’t get immunity from the lawsuit that says convenience store owners were targeted because of their ethnicity.

The controversial Candy Crush raid took place in February 2018. Rutherford County padlocked several businesses in an attempt to crack down on store owners selling candy that investigators said was made from marijuana.Turns out, it was just CBD — a legal form of hemp. Those store owners are now suing, and Documents referenced in today’s court ruling reveal doubt about the raid even before it took place.

In the days before the raid, District Attorney General Jennings Jones sent an email to the prosecutor over the case saying Rutherford County Sheriffs Deputies had “expressed a concern about what would happen if we indict…seize property, and then the TBI refuses to testify that the substances used are illegal.”

More at. https://www.newschannel5.com/news/judge-denies-immunity-in-operation-candy-crush-lawsuit

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