Jason Carter has lost an appeal in which he stated investigators violated his rights before he was arrested on a 2015 murder charge of his mother Shirley.

Carter was ultimately acquitted of the criminal accusations following the incident at the family’s rural farm home, but was found liable for her death in a civil trial, which was held prior to the criminal trial. The civil trial was a result of a $10 Million lawsuit filed by Carter’s father and brother. The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the verdict in the civil trial and has dismissed the state lawsuit against investigators, but the federal case, which went through two different appeals, remained active until a judge dismissed the claims last year. 

This most recent ruling on June 12th was the United States Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the ruling that was made in 2024. Carter claims that investigators “knowingly and intentionally concealed critical exculpatory evidence” from him throughout the litigation of the civil suit. Carter also asserts that investigators “deficient investigation shocks the conscience, creating a substantive due process violation under the Fourteenth Amendment.”

The appeal was reviewed by Judge Bobby Shepherd and at the end of his final opinion states “We discern no error by the district court” in regards to the verdict of the federal lawsuit. Find the complete judges opinion on the ruling here.