Achterhof v. SelvaggioAchterhof v. Selvaggio
James and Grace Achterhof appeal the dismissal of their section 1983 action for state interference with the family relationship in violation of their rights to due process, equal protection and freedom of association. The district court dismissed the action under
When considering a motion to dismiss under
Anthony Selvaggio, a social worker for the Michigan Department of Social Services in Barry County, but working in Kent County at the time, was assigned to the case on October 9, 1984. He allegedly “opened a case” and began his investigation with the approval of Ann Meade, his supervisor, and Richard Ritter, director of the Barry County Department of Social Services. Selvaggio also placed James Achterhof‘s name on the department‘s central registry, a record of all reports which contain relevant and accurate evidence of child abuse or neglect. James Achterhof‘s name remained on the central registry despite his request that the record be expunged. On February 20, 1985, Achterhof‘s name was expunged from the record following an administrative hearing pursuant to
As a result of this investigation, James and Grace Achterhof filed this lawsuit on January 28, 1988. An amended complaint was filed on February 3, 1988. In count I of their amended complaint the Achterhofs alleged that the investigation violated their rights to freedom of association and due process guaranteed by the first and fourteenth amendments by interfering with their family relationship. In count II the couple alleged that the defendants violated their rights to due process and equal protection under the fourteenth amendment by failing to remove James Achterhof‘s name from the central registry of child abuse reports. In count III the Achterhofs claimed that their rights to due process and freedom of association were violated by Selvaggio‘s continued contact with Karen Achterhof in the process of investigating the case. In count IV the Achterhofs alleged that Meade and Ritter were responsible for authorizing Selvaggio‘s actions. Counts V and VI stated that the defendants committed various torts against the Achterhofs under Michigan law.
On February 25, 1988, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss the complaint under
The court dismissed counts I and II of the complaint because it found that Selvaggio, Meade and Ritter enjoyed absolute immunity in deciding to “open a case,” for placing James Achterhof‘s name on the central registry and for later refusing to remove it. The court noted that officials who perform “prosecutorial functions” are entitled to absolute immunity so that they may perform their duties free from intimidation and harassment. The court found that the decision to “open a case” and to place a person‘s name on the central registry under Michigan‘s Child Protection Law were strongly analogous to prosecutorial acts and thus entitled to absolute immunity. See, e.g., Butz v. Economou, 438 U.S. 478, 98 S.Ct. 2894, 57 L.Ed.2d 895 (1978) (prosecutorial immunity extended by analogy to executive branch officials charged with conducting administrative proceedings against individuals and corporations).
The district court dismissed count III because it found that Selvaggio‘s attempts to contact Karen Achterhof after the initial investigation were entitled to qualified immunity. Following the Fifth Circuit‘s decision in Hodorowski v. Ray, 844 F.2d 1210 (5th Cir.1988), and the Second Circuit‘s decision in Robison v. Via, 821 F.2d 913, 919 (2d Cir.1987), the district court concluded that Selvaggio‘s actions were “investigatory” in nature not “prosecutorial.” The court then applied the standard for qualified immunity announced by the Supreme Court in Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), and Andersen v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987), as summarized by this court in Poe v. Haydon, 853 F.2d 418, 423 (6th Cir.1988), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 109 S.Ct. 788, 102 L.Ed.2d 780 (1989). The district court found that in continuing to contact Karen Achterhof, Selveggio had not violated any “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Harlow, 457 U.S. at 818, 102 S.Ct. at 2738.
The court dismissed count IV of the Achterhofs’ complaint sua sponte under
Because it dismissed all of the Achterhofs’ federal claims, the district court also dismissed the pendant state claims of counts V and VI. United Mine Workers of America v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 16 L.Ed.2d 218 (1966).
The dismissal of the Achterhofs’ complaint under
The Court has been reluctant, however, to let this functional, analogical approach greatly expand the scope of absolute immunity. See, e.g., Malley, 475 U.S. at 341-43, 106 S.Ct. at 1096-97 (police officer who inappropriately sought arrest warrant, though similar to prosecutor seeking indictment, not protected by absolute immunity). The Court has declined to grant absolute immunity to those not “intimately associated with the judicial phase of the criminal process.” Imbler, 424 U.S. at 430, 96 S.Ct. at 995. Section 1983 has been interpreted in this manner “not from an exaggerated esteem for those who perform these functions, and certainly not from a desire to shield abuses of office, but because any lesser degree of immunity could impair the judicial process itself.” Malley, 475 U.S. at 342, 106 S.Ct. at 1097. Official conduct not entitled to absolute immunity can at most enjoy the protection of qualified immunity. See Harlow, 457 U.S. at 807, 102 S.Ct. at 2732.
In restricting absolute immunity to those functions intimately associated with the judicial process, courts have made use of the distinction between prosecutorial and judicial duties and duties which are administrative or investigatory. Although the Supreme Court has not expressly adopted this distinction, see Imbler, 424 U.S. at 430-31, 431 n. 33, 96 S.Ct. at 994-95, 995 n. 33, the Court has left standing appellate court cases which have utilized it. Id., at 430 n. 31, 96 S.Ct. at 995 n. 31. Recently the Court has recognized that it has “at least implicitly drawn the same distinction” in its cases, Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 811 n. 16, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2734 n. 16, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), and has continued to rely on the distinction in its own immunity analysis. See, e.g., Forrester v. White, 484 U.S. 219, 227, 108 S.Ct. 538, 544, 98 L.Ed.2d 555 (1988) (“This Court has never undertaken to articulate a precise and general definition of the class of acts entitled to immunity. The decided cases, however, suggest an intelligible distinction between judicial acts and the administrative, legislative, or executive functions that judges may on occasion be assigned by law to peform.“). Moreover, “the courts of appeals have generally held that prosecutors acting in their investigative or administrative capacities merit only qualified immunity.” Windsor v. The Tennessean, 719 F.2d 155, 164 (6th Cir.1983) (citing Dellums v. Powell, 660 F.2d 802 (D.C.Cir.1981); Mancini v. Lester, 630 F.2d 990 (3d Cir.1980); Marrero v. City of Hialeah, 625 F.2d 499 (5th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 913, 101 S.Ct. 1353, 67 L.Ed.2d 337 (1981); Lee v. Willins, 617 F.2d 320 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 861, 101 S.Ct. 165, 66 L.Ed.2d 78 (1980); Forsyth v. Kleindienst, 599 F.2d 1203 (3d Cir.1979), cert. denied, 453 U.S. 913, 101 S.Ct. 3147, 69 L.Ed.2d 997 (1981); Jacobson v. Rose, 592 F.2d 515 (9th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 930, 99 S.Ct. 2861, 61 L.Ed.2d 298 (1979)). The distinction has continued to be a pivotal part of immunity analysis in this Circuit. See, e.g., Manion v. Michigan Bd. of Medicine, 765 F.2d 590 (6th Cir.1985); Joseph v. Patterson, 795 F.2d 549 (6th Cir.1986); Grant v. Hollenbach, 870 F.2d 1135 (6th Cir.1989).
In accord with this approach, we have recognized that social workers who initiate judicial proceedings against those suspected of child abuse or neglect perform a prosecutorial duty, and so are entitled to absolute immunity. Salyer v. Patrick, 874 F.2d 374 (6th Cir.1989) (family service worker who filed juvenile abuse petition absolutely immune from liability); Kurzawa v. Mueller, 732 F.2d 1456, 1458 (6th Cir.1984) (state employees responsible for prosecution of child neglect and delinquency petitions entitled to absolute immunity). Other federal courts have resolved similar problems in the same fashion. See, e.g., Coverdell v. Dept. of Social and Health Services, 834 F.2d 758, 762-64 (9th Cir.1987) (absolute immunity for social worker who obtains ex parte court order directing seizure of child); Malachowski v. City of Keene, 787 F.2d 704, 712 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 828, 107 S.Ct. 107, 93 L.Ed.2d 56 (1986) (absolute immunity for juvenile officer filing delinquency petition). We have not, however, decided what level of immunity applies to social workers who simply begin an investigation of alleged child abuse. See Salyer, 874 F.2d at 378. The present case requires us to decide this issue now.
It is undeniable that Selvaggio‘s investigation could have led to criminal prosecution. Indeed,
Despite the possibility that criminal prosecution might have resulted from Selvaggio‘s investigation, his decision to “open a case” was not entitled to absolute immunity. This decision was only investigatory or administrative in nature, not prosecutorial, judicial or otherwise intimately related to the judicial process. Selvaggio did not initiate any court action in the role of a prosecutor, nor did he sit as a judge in an adversary proceeding. His work was investigatory. Indeed, it was investigatory work of the most ordinary kind since it was mandated by the statute. Under
Similarly, Selvaggio‘s placement of James Achterhof‘s name on the central registry was not entitled to absolute immunity. This action was administrative in nature, not prosecutorial.
The dismissal of the Achterhofs’ complaint under
The judgment which dismissed the complaint under