Barriers To Suing Bad Cops

The law is full of unreasonable traps for the unwary trying to seek relief for harm they suffer from misconduct at the hands of law enforcement.

West Virginia used-car dealers file motion to suppress evidence obtained during search, and four years later a court agrees that the state trooper who applied for the warrant omitted important facts and made misleading statements and dismisses the criminal charges (failing to disclose to customers that their cars had been totaled before being refurbished) with prejudice. 

Fourth Circuit: But it's too late for them to sue the trooper over the unconstitutional search. They should have sued while the criminal case was still pending.

From here.