Pack loses suit against Wood County

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Former JP Larry Pack
loses federal lawsuit
By JOHN SPARKS

Former Wood County Precinct-3 Justice of the Peace Larry Pack has lost a federal lawsuit he brought against Wood County. Judge John D. Love of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a summary judgement on June 30 in the case as requested by Wood County.
Larry Pack resigned his JP position after being convicted of committing perjury before a grand jury in 2001. The trial was held in the 402nd District Court. Texas State Attorneys prosecuted the case at the request of Marcus Taylor, then Criminal District Attorney. Pack's suit claimed malicious prosecution by Tayor. The conviction was subsequently overturned by the Texarkana Court of Appeals.
Pack's suit also claimed violation of his Fourth Amendment rights involving unreasonable search and the acquisition of evidence from the computer in his JP office. The evidence was apparently accessed through a computer in the office of his clerk, downloaded and provided to the Texas Rangers during the course of the aggravated perjury investigation.
As for Pack's claim against Wood County for Taylor's actions, Judge Love ruled that "because DA Taylor was acting as a representative of the state, Wood County cannot be held liable for the actions of DA Taylor in prosecuting Plaintiff." The judge denied Pack's claim of privacy related to his office computer, "because it was paid for, owned and provided by Defendant Wood County for Plaintiff's official duties as a Justice of the Peace." The judge also ruled that the files stored on that computer were the property of Wood County and were not private and Pack had no basis for any expectation of privacy.
Judge Love found "an absence of genuine issues of material fact, and that the Defendant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law on Plaintiff's claims under section 1983. For all the foregoing reasons, Defendants Motion is Granted."
The judgment was subject to appeal for 30 days (July 30). No information was available concerning a possible appeal of the case.