Suit against prosecutor dismissed

COUNCIL BLUFFS -- After six years of litigation to rule on whether a person has the right to litigate against a sitting county attorney, the case against Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber has come to an end.

In a 21-page ruling, Southern Iowa U.S. District Court Chief Judge Robert W. Pratt dismissed a defamation claim filed against Wilber by Terry Harrington in 2003.

Harrington’s defamation claim was part of a larger lawsuit alleging civil rights violations against Pottawattamie County, former County Attorney Dave Richter and his former assistant Joseph Hrvol.

Harrington and Curtis W. McGhee Jr. were convicted of first-degree murder in the 1977 death of John Schweer - a retired police officer who was working as a security guard at a Council Bluffs car dealership - and sentenced to life in prison in 1978.

Harrington’s conviction was overturned by the Iowa Supreme Court after evidence was introduced that showed police and prosecutors had failed to share evidence that pointed to another man as a possible suspect in Schweer’s slaying. Some witnesses also recanted their testimony.

Harrington was freed in April 2003. McGhee was released from prison in September 2003. Both men claimed Wilber defamed them in comments he made during a press conference following their release from prison.

Wilber decided not to re-file charges against Harrington and reached a plea agreement with McGhee in which McGhee entered an "Alford" plea to second-degree murder and received credit for time already served. Under the Alford plea, McGhee didn’t admit guilt, but acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict.

At the press conference, Wilber said the “right man went to prison for over 25 years,” and ended by saying, “as for the final justice for Terry Harrington, I will defer that honor to a higher power.”

In November 2008, the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed McGhee’s defamation claim, when it ruled Wilber was entitled to immunity and reversed a district court’s decision. Pratt ruled Monday that the same ruling applied to Harrington’s case.

“Obviously, I am pleased and relieved to have this over with,” Wilber said. “The court’s decision ends the litigation against me. But, the county is still involved in the major case still pending in the U.S. Supreme Court.”