959 F.3d 1278
10th Cir.2020Background
- Aug. 3, 2014 traffic stop in Clovis, NM: Officer Aguilar stopped a vehicle; Jorge Corona was a rear-seat passenger who repeatedly asked why the vehicle was stopped.
- Officer Aguilar asked the driver for license/registration; while the driver searched, Aguilar demanded Corona’s ID and threatened arrest if Corona did not produce it.
- Aguilar handcuffed and arrested Corona for concealing identity and later charged him with resisting/evading/obstructing and concealing identity; the concealing-identity charge was dismissed and Corona was acquitted of resisting.
- Corona sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging unlawful arrest in violation of the Fourth Amendment; Aguilar moved for qualified immunity on the unlawful-arrest claim and the district court denied the motion.
- On interlocutory appeal, the Tenth Circuit reviewed de novo and affirmed: a reasonable jury could find no reasonable suspicion or probable cause for the arrest, and the law was clearly established—Aguilar was not entitled to qualified immunity.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Aguilar had reasonable suspicion/probable cause to arrest Corona for concealing identity or resisting | Corona: No particularized, objective suspicion of predicate criminal activity existed; mere refusal/failure to produce ID during a traffic stop cannot, by itself, support arrest | Aguilar: A reasonable officer could conclude probable cause existed to arrest for resisting/obstructing or concealing identity after Corona refused to produce ID | Court: No. Facts did not supply reasonable suspicion of an underlying crime, so arrest lacked probable cause and violated the Fourth Amendment |
| Whether Aguilar is entitled to qualified immunity because the law was not clearly established | Corona: Keylon v. City of Albuquerque and Supreme Court precedents put officers on notice that arresting a person for failing to ID absent reasonable suspicion is unlawful | Aguilar: Keylon is distinguishable; other decisions (and his reasonable belief) support immunity | Court: Keylon and related precedent were sufficiently particularized to put a reasonable officer on notice; qualified immunity denied |
Key Cases Cited
- Keylon v. City of Albuquerque, 535 F.3d 1210 (10th Cir.) (holding arrest for concealing identity unsupported by probable cause where no physical resistance or fighting words and no reasonable suspicion of underlying crime)
- Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Ct. of Nev., Humboldt Cty., 542 U.S. 177 (2004) (holding identification statutes constitutional only where officer has reasonable suspicion of criminal activity)
- Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47 (1979) (explaining Fourth Amendment bars demanding ID without specific basis to suspect criminal activity)
- United States v. Rice, 483 F.3d 1079 (10th Cir. 2007) (police may request passenger identification during lawful traffic stop)
- Stonecipher v. Valles, 759 F.3d 1134 (10th Cir.) (inquiry for qualified immunity on unlawful arrest asks whether there was arguable probable cause)
- White v. Pauly, 137 S. Ct. 548 (2017) (clearly established law must be particularized to the facts)
- Kisela v. Hughes, 138 S. Ct. 1148 (2018) (existing precedent must place the constitutional question beyond debate for clearly established law)
- Mullenix v. Luna, 136 S. Ct. 305 (2015) (describing the clearly established prong of qualified immunity)