Does the individual appellees have a claim of qualified immunity from prosecution in a civil action brought by a defendant in a criminal case?

In this case, the individual appellees were not parties to the criminal case; there is no indication that they controlled that litigation; and the burden of proof in the criminal case was on the government to show the lawfulness of the search and arrest, whereas the burden of showing the unlawfulness in this civil action is upon the individual appellants. Griffin v. Strong, 739 F.Supp. 1496 (D.Utah 1990). Moreover, contrary to appellants' suggestions at trial and before this court, the question of the illegality of the search and arrest is not equivalent to the question of whether appellees will ultimately be held liable. Even if the appellees' conduct had violated appellants' constitutional rights, the jurors were entitled to find that appellees were shielded by qualified immunity because they reasonably believed that they were acting lawfully, and the jury in fact so found.