Canadian couple cleared to sue California police over wrongful arrest

U.S. District Judge Casey Pitts granted Mildred Zilinskas permission to bring a constitutional due-process suit against Monterey County police for the 13-day detention of her husband, Richard Zilinskas, in October 2024. The judge held that the arrest infringed the Fourteenth Amendment right to marital companionship, citing Supreme Court precedent on marriage. While the city’s attempt to dismiss the Bane Act claim against Detective Michael Garcia was denied, the court dismissed similar claims targeting the county and Deputy District Attorney Billie Gibson, as well as a state loss-of-consortium claim.

The Zilinskases allege that detectives proceeded despite the husband not matching the suspect’s description, a point the court found sufficient to plead coercion. All criminal charges against Richard were eventually dropped, and a state court declared him innocent. The ruling may influence how spousal relationships are treated in future constitutional challenges within the Ninth Circuit.