United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

____________ FILED July 27, 2023 No. 21-60733 Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk

Robin Mayfield; Owen Mayfield; William Mayfield; Estate of Mark Stevens Mayfield,

Plaintiffs—Appellants,

versus

Butler Snow, L.L.P.; Donald Clark, Jr.; City of Madison, Mississippi; Mary Hawkins-Butler, individually and in her Official Capacity; Police Chief Gene Waldrop, Individually and in his Official Capacity; Chuck Harrison, Individually and in his Official Capacity; Vickie Currie, Individually and in her Official Capacity; John and Jane Does 1-10; Richard Wilbourn, III,

Defendants—Appellees,

Dale Danks, Jr.; Janet Danks; Jordan Russell; Quinton Dickerson,

Movants—Appellees. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi USDC No. 3:17-CV-514 ______________________________

Before Richman, Chief Judge, and Ho and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges. Case: 21-60733 Document: 00516836899 Page: 2 Date Filed: 07/27/2023

No. 21-60733

Per Curiam: * Mark Mayfield was arrested for being part of a scheme to take a picture of Senator Thad Cochran’s late wife, Rose Cochran, in the privacy of her nursing room home. One month later, Mayfield was found dead in his home, seemingly from suicide. 1 His widow, sons, and estate filed a complaint alleging 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims as well as various tort claims against state and private actors involved in his arrest and prosecution. The complaint alleges that Mayfield was subject to a politically motivated prosecution that deprived him of his constitutional rights, shut down his law practice, and humiliated him and his family, causing severe emotional distress—all of which directly led to his suicide. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss all claims. Excluding one—a Lozman claim against the City of Madison and Mayor Hawkins-Butler—the district court dismissed all of Plaintiffs’ claims. 2 After discovery, the district court granted summary judgment for the City of Madison and Mayor Hawkins-Butler, finding that Plaintiffs could not prove the required elements of their Lozman claim. Plaintiffs appeal the dismissal of their claims, the summary judgment on their Lozman claim, and several orders regarding expert testimony and discovery. We affirm.

_____________________ * Judge Ho concurs in the judgment only, in light of Mayfield v. Currie, 976 F.3d 482 (5th Cir. 2020), and Gonzalez v. Trevino, 42 F.4th 487 (5th Cir. 2022). See also Gonzalez v. Trevino, 60 F.4th 906, 907 (5th Cir. 2023) (Ho, J., dissenting from denial of rehearing en banc) (disagreeing with Mayfield and Gonzalez). 1 The death was ruled a suicide, but “Plaintiffs find it difficult to concede a suicide” even though they assume it for the purposes of this appeal. 2 See Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Fla., 138 S. Ct. 1945 (2018).

2 Case: 21-60733 Document: 00516836899