5/16/14 - A federal lawsuit filed by a former Brighton man who spent more than 15 years in prison for murder is on hold while an appeal is heard from one of the defendants. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit in 2012 by 47-year-old Daniel Albert Newman, who was convicted of murder in 1992 for the shooting death of Harvey Chappelear in his Hamburg Township home. Authorities contended that Newman killed Chappelear in the course of a robbery. But in 2008 a federal appeals panel ruled that because there was no eyewitness or direct evidence that could place Newman at the murder scene, there were not sufficient grounds to sustain a conviction, and he was eventually released. The suit originally targeted Hamburg Township and two former police officials; Officer Patrick Debottis and Lt. Eric Calhoun. But in a ruling last month, the township and Debottis were removed from the lawsuit, leaving Calhoun as the sole defendant. Court records show that an order was recently entered staying the lawsuit, while Calhoun pursues an appeal with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. Heâs seeking a decision on whether or not he has qualified immunity in the case as he maintains that there was probable cause for Newman's arrest and that he acted in good faith. Newman's lawsuit alleges Calhoun violated his Constitutional rights when he failed to disclose evidence to the prosecutor's office, including work boots found at his home that were larger than a shoe print found at the murder scene. He also alleges that authorities ignored a failed polygraph exam of another man who was asked about his involvement in the murder. (JK)
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