hospital.  From November, 1982 to February, 1983 Elaine Fiddler, a caseworker for the state, provided general supervision and casework services to the family.  On February 1, 1983 Burns was found guilty of kidnap and rape in the first degree and sentenced to life imprisonment.  On March 31, 1983 the King County superior court authorized Burns' release from custody pending appeal.


3
On April 28, 1983 David Smith, a King County prosecutor, filed a motion for review of Burns' release pending appeal and an affidavit in support of that motion.  Smith's affidavit alleged that Burns had threatened the rape victim, and had also threatened to flee the state upon his release from custody.  This affidavit was based on information that he then attributed to Elaine Fiddler,Judy Buck, another caseworker, Rebecca Hicks, the guardian ad litem for the Burns children, and Carole Warwick, a caseworker for Harborview Medical Center who worked with Dolores Burns while she was in the hospital.  Smith later admitted that Fiddler had not, in fact, provided him with any information about the Burns case.  After a hearing on May 6, 1983, at which an affidavit from Carole Warwick was introduced relating Burns' wife's allegations that Burns had physically abused her and intimidated her in the past, the court entered an order denying release from custody pending appeal, and Burns was returned to custody.


4
Burns filed this suit against Warwick, Fiddler, and various other state employees under 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1983 and 1985 (1982) on May 23, 1984.  Burns'