Patrick M. Carey, Civil Rights Attorney in Erie, Pennsylvania

Patrick is active in the defense of a wide variety of litigation areas including motor vehicle liability, premises liability, municipal liability, and hospitality and liquor liability. With his extensive criminal law background, Patrick also handles civil rights defense and insurance fraud cases. He has successfully handled several civil rights and municipal liability cases involving prisons, police departments, police officers and municipalities.

Patrick is a graduate of Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. Following graduation, Patrick attended Ohio Northern University School of Law where he achieved his juris doctor in 1987. He then served as a law clerk for the Honorable Shad Connelly of the Court of Common Pleas for Erie County, Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Marshall Dennehey, Patrick served as an Erie County Assistant District Attorney for more than eight years. In that role, he tried over 100 criminal cases, including high-profile homicide cases, as well as precedent-setting cases.

Patrick was an adjunct professor at Gannon University where he taught an undergraduate course in Criminal Evidence. He was also a lecturer in the joint project between the Erie County Courts and the Erie City School District entitled 'Personal Responsibility and the Law.' Patrick also was a lecturer in the Erie County Bar Association's 'Stepping Out' program by which Erie County lawyers addressed high school students regarding legal issues facing them upon graduation.

Honors & Awards

•The Best Lawyers in America, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (2024-2026)

Classes/Seminars Taught

•Criminal Evidence, Gannon University
•Liability for Police Pursuits
•Municipal Liability for Roadway Dangers

Published Works

•'Pennsylvania Superior Court Further Limits the Limited Tort Defense,' Defense Digest, Vol. 21, No. 2, June 2015

Results

Appellate Reversal in the Third Circuit Obtained in Fourth Amendment Civil Rights Case

In a unanimous precedential opinion, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with our attorneys that a law enforcement officer’s attempted arrest of the plaintiff did not constitute an unlawful seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Our client was instructed by a neighboring police department to hold a burglary suspect who was subject to a search warrant, but not an arrest warrant. After the officer tried to detain the suspect, he fled, and a fight ensued. While the district court held that the officer’s initial attempt to detain the plaintiff was an unlawful seizure, the Third Circuit accepted our reasoning that no seizure occurred because the plaintiff never submitted to the officer.

Dismissal of claims against a Pennsylvania city and a police officer.

In this civil rights litigation, we obtained summary judgment and the dismissal of all claims against a Pennsylvania City and one of its police officers. The court found that the traffic stop of the plaintiff was proper and did not violate his constitutional rights. The plaintiff filed a federal civil rights action against the police officer and the City, alleging that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated because of unlawful search and seizure as well as a malicious prosecution. The plaintiff further alleged that the City was liable for the constitutional violation based upon a failure to train its officers. These claims were based, in part, upon the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in Commonwealth v. Hicks, which was filed approximately two months before the plaintiff’s arrest. In this civil rights case, the parties agree to forego discovery and instead rely solely upon the record developed in the plaintiff’s state criminal prosecution. After considering the record evidence, the arguments of each side, and the motions and briefs submitted, the District Court issued an opinion finding that the police officer possessed a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, justifying the traffic stop of the plaintiff’s vehicle. Because the court concluded that the plaintiff’s constitutional rights had not been violated, an analysis of qualified immunity was unnecessary. Finally, after finding that the officer did not violate the plaintiff’s constitutional rights, the court dismissed the Monell claims raised against the City.

News

98 Marshall Dennehey Attorneys Recognized in the 2026 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America

August 20, 2025