Cruz was arrested and indicted for murder. After spending two years in jail, a jury acquitted him. Thereafter, he filed a civil action alleging that the lead detective misled the grand jury and thereby violated his civil rights. In Cruz v. Camden Co. Police Dep’t, the trial court granted the Department’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the claims with prejudice. Cruz appealed, and the Appellate Division affirmed. Relying on the U.S. Supreme Court case of Rehberg v. Paulk, 566 U.S. 356 (2012), the Appellate Division held that, when testifying before a grand jury, a witness has absolute immunity when they are alleged to have omitted testimony.
