Federal Circuits, 6th Cir. (July 14, 1989)
Docket number: 88-5477
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U.S. Supreme Court - Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183 (1984)
U.S. Supreme Court - Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982)
U.S. Supreme Court - Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520 (1979)
U.S. Supreme Court - Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137 (1979)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Cir. - Janet M. Hicks v. Richard D. Moore (11th Cir. 2005)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Cir. - Archuleta v. Wagner (10th Cir. 2008)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Cir. - Kahlich v. Grosse Pointe, et al (6th Cir. 2005)
Gregory A. Bolzle (argued), Woodward, Hobson & Fulton, Louisville, Ky., for plaintiff-appellee.
N. Scott Lilly, Asst. Co. Atty., argued, Louisville, Ky., for defendants-appellants.Before MERRITT and MILBURN, Circuit Judges, and LIVELY, Senior Circuit Judge.LIVELY, Senior Circuit Judge.This action under 42 U.S.C. Sec . 1983 presents two claims of constitutional violations in connection with the plaintiff's arrest and detention. The plaintiff's first claim is that the arresting officer and detention personnel violated her Fourteenth Amendment right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law by failing to investigate sufficiently to determine whether a warrant for her arrest had been issued by mistake. Her other claim is that a strip search of the plaintiff at the Jefferson County jail was unreasonable, and therefore violated the Fourth Amendment. The defendants, officers and employees of Jefferson County, Kentucky, filed a motion to dismiss on the basis of qualified immunity and for failure to state a claim. The district court denied the defendants' motion, and this appeal was brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec . 1291. Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 524-30, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 2814-17, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985). We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.I.The facts as stated in the complaint are treated as true. All events occurred in 1986. On July 31 Karen Masters, a resident of Jefferson County, received two traffic tickets--one for operating an automobile with expired registration plates, and the other for failure to maintain auto insurance. As directed by the citation, Mrs. Masters appeared before the Jefferson District Court at a neighborhood government center on August 21 at 7:00 p.m., and pled not guilty. After a second appearance the court directed her to appear before Division 102 of the District Court at the downtown justice center on October 23 at 9:00 a.m. A deputy sheriff in attendance gave the plaintiff a "reminder card" containing this information. However, the plaintiff's name did not appear on the card. By mistake, the judge who presided at the second appearance recorded the plaintiff's next appearance date as October 16 rather than October 23.On October 21, at about 3:00 p.m. the defendant Barrows, a county police officer, arrested Mrs. Masters at her home for failure to appear in court on October 16. The plaintiff protested that her appearance date was October 23, not October 16, and showed Barrows the reminder card. The officer confirmed the existence of the arrest warrant for Karen Masters and refused the plaintiff's request to call an attorney. Officer Barrows took the plaintiff and her two young children in a squad car to the home of Mrs. Masters' mother, where the children were left. He then took the plaintiff to a public parking lot and delivered her to another officer who handcuffed her before transporting her to the hall of corrections. Throughout these events Mrs. Masters repeatedly advised the officers that there was a mistake, that she was not required to appear in court until October 23.At the corrections building the plaintiff was required to remove her shoes and empty her pockets and then was "frisked" by a female attendant. While Mrs. Masters was in a "holding room" a different female attendant ordered her to open her blouse. This search occurred in front of a window in the holding room, in plain view of other persons. Approximately four hours after her arrest the plaintiff was handcuffed to another woman and taken to a room on the third floor of the Jefferson County jail. At that point, still another female attendant subjected the plaintiff to a strip search over her continued protestations of mistake. The plaintiff was required "to remove all of her clothing except her underpants and to turn around, drop her underpants, bend over and expose her rectum." After putting on a jail dress, the plaintiff was lodged in a jall cell with other persons. Later in the evening she was released on her own recognizance and ordered to report to court at 9:00 a.m. the next day. The following morning the presiding judge acknowledged the recording error that led to the issuance of the arrest warrant.II.In the U.S. District Court the plaintiff sought damages under Sec. 1983 for alleged constitutional violations and under various state laws as pendent claims. She also requested a declaratory judgment and a permanent injunction to prohibit enforcement of the laws and policies under which she was arrested, detained and searched. The defendants' qualified immunity defense was based on their contention that at the time of the events complained of there was no "clearly established law" holding any of the defendants' acts unconstitutional.The district court recognized that public officials and employees are immune from suits seeking damages under Sec. 1983 for acts performed under color of law unless it has been clearly established that such acts deprive the plaintiff of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Interpreting Supreme Court authority exonerating an officer who executes an arrest warrant from making an independent investigation of every claim of innocence, the district court concluded that there is an implied duty to make an investigation in some cases. The court held that, in this case, because Mrs. Masters had documentary evidence that the warrant had been issued by mistake, the officer had a duty to investigate and verify the validity of the warrant.The district court found that the strip search was conducted pursuant to provisions of a consent decree previously entered by another division of the court in a class action, Tate v. Frey, W.D.Ky. No. 75-00031-L(A). The consent decree, entered as a "Stipulation for Settlement of Class Action" on October 1, 1985, provided in paragraph XXIII that the defendant Jefferson County authorities agreed to establish policies addressing the search of inmates and inmates' property. It then set forth guidelines for those policies. The particular policy under which Mrs. Masters was searched provides:All inmates will be thoroughly searched each time an inmate passes from one security area to another, being prepared for transportation both between floors and externally, and upon admission to the Department. All newly admitted inmates to the Department will be frisked searched upon arrival to the Department and strip searched immediately prior to the movement of the inmate to rear security, female section or other areas of the Department.The district court found that, in applying this policy, the defendants are required to balance the interest of a detainee in remaining free from the serious personal intrusion inherent in a strip search against the interest of the authorities in maintaining security within the jail. Since Mrs. Masters was arrested and detained on minor traffic offenses not normally associated with weapons or other contraband, and no effort was made to determine whether any grounds existed for believing her movement from one area of the jail to another involved a security risk, the complaint stated a claim for relief. Applying objective standards, the court further found that the plaintiff's right not to be subjected to a strip search under the facts of this case was clearly established. Thus, the district court denied the defendants' claims of qualified immunity.III.A.In Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2738, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), the Supreme Court held that "government officials performing discretionary functions, generally are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known." The standard to be applied in deciding a claim of qualified immunity is one of "objective reasonableness." Id. The Court reiterated both the rule and the standard in Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183, 191, 104 S.Ct. 3012, 3017, 82 L.Ed.2d 139 (1984), and added that "[n]o other 'circumstances' are relevant to the issue of qualified immunity." Id. Further refining the scope of inquiry to be conducted by a court in deciding a claim of qualified immunity, the Supreme Court cautioned in Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987), against identifying a clearly established rule of law at a level of broad generality. Rather, the right allegedly violated must have been clearly established in a "more particularized, and hence more relevant, sense." 107 S.Ct. at 3039. The Court explained its "more particularized" requirement as follows:The contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right. This is not to say that an official action is protected by qualified immunity unless the very action in question has previously been held unlawful, see Mitchell, 472 U.S., at 535, n. 12, 105 S.Ct., at 2820, n. 12; but it is to say that in the light of preexisting law the unlawfulness must be apparent. See e.g., Malley [v. Briggs ], supra, 475 U.S. , at 344-345, 106 S.Ct. [1092], at [1098, 89 L.Ed.2d 271 (1986) ]; Mitchell, supra, 472 U.S., at 528, 105 S.Ct., at 2816; Davis, supra, 468 U.S., at 191, 195, 104 S.Ct., at 3017, 3019.Id.In describing the circumstances under which we will hold that a constitutional right is clearly established, this court has formulated a rule which requires us to look first to decisions of the Supreme Court, then to decisions of this court and other courts within this circuit, and finally to decisions of other circuits. Ohio Civil Service Employees Ass'n v. Seiter, 858 F.2d 1171 (6th Cir.1988); Robinson v. Bibb, 840 F.2d 349 (6th Cir.1988); Davis v. Holly, 835 F.2d 1175 (6th Cir.1987).B.On appeal the defendants rely squarely on Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 99 S.Ct. 2689, 61 L.Ed.2d 433 (1979), to negate the claim that the plaintiff had a clearly established right not to be arrested and detained without an independent investigation of her claim of mistake. In Baker the Supreme Court held that an officer making an arrest on the basis of a facially valid warrant is under no duty "to investigate independently every claim of innocence." Id. at 145-46, 99 S.Ct. at 2695.Agreeing with the district court, the plaintiff argues that the reminder card setting her appearance in Jefferson District Court for October 23 was documentary evidence supporting her claim of mistake. This evidence, the plaintiff maintains, was sufficient to take her case outside the general rule that such an investigation is not required in every case. Because Mrs. Masters had supporting evidence that the arrested plaintiff in Baker did not possess, the officer was required to investigate and determine the true facts.The defendants approach the strip search issue differently. They argue that there was no clearly established right for a pretrial detainee in the Jefferson County jail to be free of a strip search before being moved from the holding area to a cell. On the contrary, they maintain, the consent decree in Tate v. Frey authorized such searches and this court, in Dobrowolskyj v. Jefferson County, 823 F.2d 955 (6th Cir.1987), upheld the constitutionality of the search policy. They contend that the Jefferson County policy passes muster under the reasoning of Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979), which upheld a policy of the New York City Metropolitan Correctional Center that required body-cavity searches of inmates following contact visits with persons from outside the institution.The plaintiff responds that Bell v. Wolfish prescribed a balancing of the competing interests of the detainee and the authorities, and held the particular search in that case permissible because the need for the search outweighed the plaintiff's right to be free of such an intrusion. Bell v. Wolfish did not give carte blanche approval to a practice of strip searching all pretrial detainees. In applying the limitations imposed by the Supreme Court, the plaintiff contends, no published opinion of any court has upheld the constitutionality of a policy which permits routine strip searches of persons arrested for minor offenses. Thus, she argues, the right of a person in her position to be free of such a search was clearly established, in the "particularized sense" required by Anderson v. Creighton.IV.We believe the district court erred in concluding that clearly established law required the defendants to investigate sufficiently to determine that the arrest warrant had been mistakenly issued on the basis of an error by a judge. The warrant named the plaintiff, who was the person charged by the Jefferson County police and gave her correct address. The warrant was valid on its face, and Barrows did make a call to verify that it was still outstanding. The "reminder card" did not bear Mrs. Masters' name or any description of a charge, but merely showed that some proceedings would take place in Courtroom No. 102 at 9:00 a.m. on October 23, 1986. While this document certainly strengthened her claim of mistake, it was not sufficient to require further investigation. Since the error was made by the judge who set the date, not by the person who issued the warrant, it is unlikely that the mistake would have been discovered by any investigation that did not include examining that particular judge's daily records.Of course, a more sensitive group of public employees might have made the additional investigation, but the Constitution did not require it. Baker v. McCollan is the controlling case. There a man was arrested and held for several days under a warrant that was valid on its face. The warrant was intended for McCollan's brother, however, and McCollan was released when the mistake was discovered. The brother had given the police McCollan's driver's license when arrested. The Supreme Court found that McCollan's claim was based on the alleged intentional failure of the authorities to investigate his claim of innocence after he was incarcerated. The decision states a rule, however, with respect to the duty to investigate that applies to an arresting officer as well as to custodians following arrest. The Court pointed out that the Constitution does not guarantee that only the guilty will be arrested; police and correction employees may rely on facially valid arrest warrants even in the face of vehement claims of innocence by reason of mistaken identity or otherwise. 443 U.S. at 145, 99 S.Ct. at 2695.The district court found an implication in the Supreme Court's statement that an arresting officer is not required to conduct an independent investigation into every claim of innocence, that in exceptional cases such as this one the Constitution does require such an investigation. While the language clearly supports an implication that there may be cases where such an investigation is required, it is not a sufficient statement to satisfy the requirement that the right relied upon must be "clearly established." We have found no case from the Supreme Court or this court holding an arresting officer with a valid warrant, or a custodian, liable in a Sec. 1983 action for arresting and detaining the wrong person for a brief time due to a mistake in identity. In Coogan v. City of Wixom, 820 F.2d 170 (6th Cir.1987), we cited Baker v. McCollan in holding that a person arrested pursuant to a valid warrant had "no legal basis" for a claim of a constitutional violation. Id. at 174.We vacate the order denying the defendants' motion to dismiss the claim related to the plaintiff's arrest and detention pursuant to the facially valid warrant. This claim will be dismissed upon remand.V.A.The strip search in this case consisted of two discrete acts. First, Mrs. Masters was required to expose her breast area, and later she was required to remove all her clothes and undergo the further visual inspection previously described. We consider the two incidents a single search, although either would be treated as a strip search if it occurred alone.We have found no authority approving a practice of conducting a strip search of a person arrested for a simple traffic violation in the absence of at least reasonable suspicion that the person might be carrying a weapon, illegal drugs, or other contraband. As the defendants have noted, the Supreme Court approved a policy of conducting strip searches of pretrial detainees under certain circumstances in Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979). These searches were conducted following every contact visit by a detainee with a person from outside the institution. There is an obvious risk that such a visit may be used to introduce contraband into a penal institution. While the Court emphasized the wide-ranging deference to be accorded the decisions of correction officials with respect to institutional security, it clearly prescribes a test of reasonableness based upon a balancing of competing interests:The test of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment is not capable of precise definition or mechanical application. In each case it requires a balancing of the need for the particular search against the invasion of personal rights that the search entails. Courts must consider the scope of the particular intrusion, the manner in which it is conducted, the justification for initiating it, and the place in which it is conducted.Id. at 559, 99 S.Ct. at 1884.As the court stated in Mary Beth G. v. City of Chicago, 723 F.2d 1263, 1272 (7th Cir.1983), Bell v. Wolfish does not validate a blanket policy of strip searching pretrial detainees. Bell v. Wolfish authorizes particularized searches where objective circumstances indicate such searches are needed to maintain institutional security. The Mary Beth G. court found that no such need existed for strip searches, including visual inspection of the breast area and body cavities, of female detainees arrested for traffic offenses and other nonviolent misdemeanors. The city's inability to gather evidence proving that female minor offenders in general were security risks demonstrated that the only justification for the policy was institutional convenience--a policy of strip searching all female detainees is easier to administer than one which requires a balancing of interests in each case and an individual determination of need. Id. at 1272-73.In Mary Beth G. the court followed its earlier affirmance of a district court decision. See Tinetti v. Wittke, 479 F.Supp. 486 (E.D.Wis.1979), aff'd, 620 F.2d 160 (7th Cir.1980). In Tinetti a woman arrested for speeding was subjected to a visual body cavity search pursuant to a policy that all persons detained in a county jall be subjected to a strip search, regardless of their offense. The district court held that strip searches must be justified by a reasonable belief that they will reveal weapons or instruments of escape or evidence that could be concealed or destroyed. Unlike detainees charged with criminal offenses, the court found there is little reason to believe that persons arrested for traffic violations will conceal weapons or contraband. The policy was unconstitutional because it failed to require any balancing of interests. The court of appeals adopted the district court's opinion.The defendants seek to justify the strip search with the fact that Mrs. Masters was being moved from the holding area to a cell area on a different floor of the justice center. Several cases have recognized imminent mingling with other inmates as a consideration in the decision whether to strip search a detainee. However, the fact of intermingling alone has never been found to justify such a search without consideration of the nature of the offense and the question of whether there is any reasonable basis for concern that the particular detainee will attempt to introduce weapons or other contraband into the institution.In Logan v. Shealy, 660 F.2d 1007 (4th Cir.1981), cert. denied sub nom. Clements v. Logan,Try vLex for FREE for 3 days
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