Michael Holmes Missouri Cases

Michael Holmes sued the Commissioner of the Office of Administration and the Attorney General, seeking payment from the State Legal Expense Fund (SLEF) for a $2.5 million judgment against two former police officers who fabricated evidence leading to his wrongful conviction. The circuit court granted summary judgment for Holmes, declaring SLEF obligated to pay. On appeal, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed, holding that the right to payment from SLEF arises when a claim is made, not when the underlying conduct occurred. Since Holmes's claim was made in 2012, the 2013 version of the statute, which prohibits SLEF from paying claims against police officers, applied, and its application was not an unconstitutional retrospective law.

Michael Holmes filed a declaratory judgment action to determine whether the State of Missouri or the City of St. Louis was responsible for paying a $2.5 million federal civil rights judgment awarded to him against two St. Louis police officers. The trial court granted summary judgment for Holmes, finding the State was required to indemnify the officers through the State Legal Expense Fund (SLEF). The appellate court affirmed, holding that the 2003 version of the SLEF statute applied to the officers' misconduct, which occurred in 2003, and that applying the 2005 amendments retrospectively would be unconstitutional. The court further found the State was required to indemnify, not merely reimburse, the officers.