643 F. App'x 718
10th Cir.2016Background
- Webb was arrested after a traffic stop for a nonviolent misdemeanor and taken to the Weber County Correctional Facility (WCCF).
- WCCF policy prohibited strip searches for nonviolent misdemeanors absent individualized reasonable suspicion; nevertheless Webb was strip searched during booking.
- The arresting officer completed a "Probable Cause Affidavit" that required a judicial review within 48 hours; WCCF placed affidavits in a filing receptacle for judges to review but had no mechanism to ensure release if a judge failed to act.
- No judge signed Webb’s affidavit; he remained detained five days before a hearing where charges were dismissed.
- Webb sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (and other claims). The district court denied qualified immunity to (a) West, Johnson, and Flatt on the strip-search claim and (b) all Weber Defendants on the prolonged-detention claim; defendants appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether officers are entitled to qualified immunity for conducting/participating in a strip search of a nonviolent misdemeanor arrestee without reasonable suspicion | Webb: strip search violated Fourth Amendment; clearly established law prohibited such searches without particularized reasonable suspicion | Weber Defendants: lack of proof some officers conducted the search; Florence creates uncertainty about the law | Court: Denies qualified immunity — Chapman made it clearly established in 2011 that strip searches of minor-offense detainees require reasonable suspicion; Florence argument waived for failure to preserve below |
| Whether correctional officers (West, Johnson, Flatt) are entitled to qualified immunity for prolonged detention where arrestee went >48 hours without judicial probable cause determination | Webb: officers caused or contributed to delay; constitutional right to prompt probable cause hearing was violated | Officers: no affirmative duty under state law to ensure arraignment (so no liability) | Court: Denies qualified immunity — cause-of-delay factual dispute exists and right to prompt probable-cause determination was clearly established (McLaughlin); officers may be liable if their actions caused delay |
| Whether Sheriff Thompson is entitled to qualified immunity on supervisory-liability for prolonged detention | Webb: Thompson’s booking/review policy (no mechanism to ensure release if judge fails to act) caused the delay; supervisory liability available | Thompson: no municipal policy or causal link shown; wrong mens rea applied by district court (should be objective reasonableness) | Court: Denies qualified immunity — factual disputes on policy and causation preclude immunity; although court applied deliberate-indifference language, that finding suffices under objective-reasonableness standard for Fourth Amendment claim |
| Whether Florence v. Burlington County rendered the law unclear re strip searches such that defendants have qualified immunity | Webb: law was clear pre-Florence that strip searches of minor-offense arrestees require reasonable suspicion | Defendants: Florence authorized broad strip searches, creating uncertainty about clearly-established law in 2011 | Court: Defendants waived this argument by failing to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation; even if not waived, argument inadequately developed and would fail |
Key Cases Cited
- Estate of Booker v. Gomez, 745 F.3d 405 (10th Cir. 2014) (standard for reviewing interlocutory qualified-immunity appeals)
- Chapman v. Nichols, 989 F.2d 393 (10th Cir. 1993) (strip searches of minor-offense detainees without particularized reasonable suspicion are unconstitutional)
- Florence v. Bd. of Chosen Freeholders of Cty. of Burlington, 567 U.S. 747 (2012) (upholding clothed visual body-cavity inspections for jail intake; emphasized need for reasonable jail search policies)
- Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103 (1975) (warrantless arrestees entitled to prompt judicial probable-cause determination)
- Cty. of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (1991) (probable-cause determination generally must occur within 48 hours; government must show bona fide emergency to justify delay)
- Wilson v. Montano, 715 F.3d 847 (10th Cir. 2013) (prolonged-detention pleading against assisting officer failed where no state-law duty to ensure prompt hearing was alleged)
- Dodds v. Richardson, 614 F.3d 1185 (10th Cir. 2010) (discussion of supervisor liability under § 1983 and inquiry into applicable mens rea)
- Porro v. Barnes, 624 F.3d 1322 (10th Cir. 2010) (supervisor liability under § 1983 requires that supervisor subjected plaintiff to deprivation or caused it)