Dickens v. DeBolt

This is an action for conversion by a fisherman against a state police officer who seized a sturgeon which he mistakenly believed to have been caught illegally and may have then eaten most of the "evidence.” The case was tried before a jury, which returned a verdict of $250 in general damages and $750 punitive damages. The Attorney General appealed from the resulting judgment on behalf of the state police officer. The Court of Appeals reversed the judgment upon the ground that Oregon statutes confer complete and absolute immunity upon a state police officer in such a case. 39 Or App 575, 592…