960 F.3d 1112
8th Cir.2020Background:
- On April 26, 2016, M.A.B. was stopped for speeding; Officer Gregory Johnston requested female backup and searched the car with consent (no contraband found).
- Officer Michelle Mason performed a pat-down and, according to M.A.B., then conducted an upper-body strip search and a lower-body (body cavity) search while M.A.B. remained roadside.
- M.A.B. sued Mason in her individual capacity under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging an unreasonable search in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments (also asserted a state-law strip-search claim).
- Both parties moved for summary judgment but limited their submissions to facts about the upper-body strip search and intentionally omitted facts relating to the alleged lower-body search.
- The district court denied both summary-judgment motions, concluding genuine issues of material fact remained and the court must consider the entire alleged search to assess reasonableness and clearly established law.
- On appeal, the Eighth Circuit dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because the denial of qualified immunity turned on disputed factual issues in the incomplete record; it therefore also declined supplemental review of official-immunity denial and remanded.
Issues:
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualified immunity for alleged strip/body-cavity search under §1983 | M.A.B.: search (strip and cavity) was constitutionally unreasonable | Mason: entitled to qualified immunity; district court improperly denied immunity | Appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because resolution depends on disputed facts; district court's factual resolution required |
| Appealability of denial of qualified immunity | M.A.B.: denial should not be treated as final when factual issues remain | Mason: denial presents an appealable legal issue concerning qualified immunity | Court held it lacks jurisdiction because the denial turns on factual disputes, not purely legal questions |
| Whether district court could decide based only on upper-body-search facts | M.A.B.: entire alleged search must be considered to determine lawfulness | Mason: parties sought rulings confined to upper-body strip-search facts | District court correctly refused partial adjudication; genuine issues remain about the full scope of the search |
| Review of official immunity denial | Plaintiff: denial proper given factual disputes | Defendant: appellate review of official immunity should follow qualified-immunity review | Court lacked supplemental jurisdiction to review official-immunity denial after dismissing qualified-immunity appeal |
Key Cases Cited
- Torgerson v. City of Rochester, 643 F.3d 1031 (8th Cir. 2011) (summary-judgment determinations reviewed de novo)
- Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511 (U.S. 1985) (denial of qualified immunity can be a final appealable order when it turns on an issue of law)
- Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304 (U.S. 1995) (appellate courts cannot review denials of summary judgment that turn on genuine issues of fact)
- Aaron v. Shelley, 624 F.3d 882 (8th Cir. 2010) (lack of jurisdiction when appeal raises factual rather than abstract legal issues)
- Stewart v. Wagner, 836 F.3d 978 (8th Cir. 2016) (supplemental jurisdiction over official-immunity claims depends on appellate jurisdiction over qualified immunity)