Sherratt v. Braithwaite

── Sherratt v. Braithwaite ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: April 23, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 24-4101 Document: 29-1 Date Filed: 04/23/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT April 23, 2026 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court WILLIAM SHERRATT, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. No. 24-4101 (D.C. No. 4:23-CV-00076-DN) ROBERT BRAITHWAITE; SCOTT (D. Utah) BURNS; DAVID DOXEY; MATTHEW BELL; ANNE MARIE MCIFF ALLEN; MICHAEL WESTFALL; KEITH BARNES; MARK GOWER; TRAJAN EVANS; SCOTT GARRETT; PATRICK NOLAN; MARK SHURTLEFF; JOHN SWALLOW; SEAN REYES; ERIN RILEY; HEATHER CHESNUT; FIFTH DISTRICT COURT; IRON COUNTY ATTORNEYS OFFICE; UTAH ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE, Defendants - Appellees. _________________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT * _________________________________ Before HARTZ, MORITZ, and ROSSMAN, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined * unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.  Appellate Case: 24-4101 Document: 29-1 Date Filed: 04/23/2026 Page: 2 William Sherratt filed a pro se action under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 against multiple defendants asserting federal constitutional claims and claims under Utah law for libel and violations of the Utah Constitution. The district court dismissed the case with prejudice, and Mr. Sherratt now appeals. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm. I This case has a complex procedural history dating back twenty-five years and involving proceedings in state and federal court. We describe only so much of the background as is relevant to the disposition of the instant appeal. A In 2000, a jury in Utah’s Fifth District Court convicted Mr. Sherratt of two counts of rape of a victim under the age of 18 with whom he held a special relationship of trust, in violation of Utah Code Ann. §§ 76-5-402 and 76-5-406. Judge Robert Braithwaite presided over the trial, and county attorney David Doxey prosecuted the state case. Both are defendants in the instant federal action. On May 23, 2000, Judge Braithwaite held a sentencing hearing. As relevant here, the attorneys discussed one of Mr. Sherratt’s prior crimes, which was described in the presentence investigation report (“PSR”) as a 1987 conviction for spousal abuse. Judge Braithwaite had presided over that 1987 case and apparently knew that Mr. Sherratt had not been convicted. But Judge Braithwaite allegedly “remained silent” during the sentencing hearing. R. at 124 ¶ IV.9. Mr. Sherratt was sentenced to five years to life on each rape count, to run concurrently. On the same day, Judge 2  Appellate Case: 24-4101 Docu