Clark v. Baines

Following Wayne A. Baines’s entry of an Alford1 plea to two counts of fourth degree assault with sexual motivation, the complaining witness, Piety Ann Clark, sued Baines for sexual battery and outrage. Baines counterclaimed for malicious prosecution of Clark’s civil action. On Clark’s motion for partial summary judgment, the trial court dismissed Baines’s counterclaim after concluding the record of Baines’s Alford plea conclusively established probable cause for Clark’s civil action. The Court of Appeals affirmed in a split decision. We hold an Alford plea cannot be used as the basis for…