Richards v. County of San Bernardino, et al. — 9th Cir. (Sep 30, 2026)

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San Bernardino County asks the Ninth Circuit to overturn a civil-rights award of more than twenty-five million dollars to William Richards. Richards found his wife Pamela dead outside their home after returning from work. He was convicted of her murder in 1997, but California's Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2016 because of false evidence, and he was later found factually innocent. He then sued over the investigation and prosecution and won a civil jury verdict against the county. Two claims concern delayed coroner access that allegedly lost time-of-death evidence, and withheld laboratory notes suggesting another source for a hair beneath Pamela's fingernail. These Monell claims…