Page 37 - TPA Journal January February 2025

At the end of the second day, Gonzalez was pack-
(Discussion of the claim regarding witness avail- ing up her belongings when the mayor, Edward
ability and Miranda omitted as is the dissenting Trevino, II, asked her for the petition. Gonzalez
opinion) indicated that the petition was in Trevino’s pos-
session, which he denied. He then asked Gonzalez
U.S. v. Campos-Ayala, No. 21-50642, 5 th Cir., to check her binder, where she found the petition.
June 07, 2024. Gonzalez claims that she “did not intentionally put
*************************************** the petition in her binder,” and that she was “sur -
************************ prise[d]” to find it there.

Trevino brought this incident to the city police’s
RETALIATORY ARREST, CIVIL CLAIM – suf- atten tion, and an investigation into these events
ficiency. soon began. Within a month, a private attorney
tasked with leading the investigation concluded
as a general rule, a plaintiff bringing a retalia tory- that Gonzalez had likely violated a Texas anti-
arrest claim “must plead and prove the absence of tampering statute that, among other things, pro-
probable cause for the arrest.” At the same time, hibits a person from intentionally “remov[ing] . . .
we recog nized a narrow exception to that rule. a gov ernmental record.”
The existence of probable cause does not defeat a
plaintiff ’s claim if he pro duces “objective evi- On the private attorney’s request, a local
dence that he was arrested when other wise simi- Magistrate granted a warrant for Gonzalez’s
larly situated individuals not engaged in the same arrest. When she heard the news, Gonzalez turned
sort of protected speech had not been.” We grant- herself in and spent an evening in jail. The district
ed certiorari in this case to consider whether the attorney ultimately dismissed the charges.
Fifth Circuit properly applied these principles. It Gonzalez claims that this episode has convinced
did not. We therefore vacate that court’s judgment her to step away from political life.
and remand for pro ceedings consistent with this
opinion. Gonzalez brought suit under 42 U. S. C. §1983, in
Federal District Court against Trevino along with
In 2019, Sylvia Gonzalez ran for a seat on the city the police chief and the private attorney in their
council of Castle Hills, a small town in southern individual capacities. Her complaint alleged that
Texas. While she was on the campaign trail, she was arrested in retaliation for her role in orga-
Gonzalez heard multiple com plaints about the city nizing the petition for Rapelye’s removal and that
manager, Ryan Rapelye. As city man ager, the defendants therefore violated her First
Rapelye was responsible for, among other things, Amendment rights. To bolster her claim,
en forcing the city’s laws and managing its budget. Gonzalez alleged that she had re viewed the past
Gonzalez was elected in May 2019. Her first act in decade’s misdemeanor and felony data for Bexar
office was to help gather signatures for a petition County (where Castle Hills is located) and that her
seeking Rapelye’s removal. Eventually, over 300 review had found that the Texas anti-tampering
residents signed the petition. The petition was statute had never been used in the county “to crim-
introduced at the next city council meeting, where inally charge someone for trying to steal a non-
discussions grew heated after vari ous residents binding or expressive doc ument.” To bolster her
rose to Rapelye’s defense and spoke against claim, Gonzalez alleged that she had re viewed the
Gonzalez. The discussion over the petition contin- past decade’s misdemeanor and felony data for
ued the next day. Bexar County (where Castle Hills is located) and
that her review had found that the Texas anti-tam-

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