Torres v. U.S.
| Decision Date | 29 December 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 99-1024,99-1024 |
| Citation | 200 F.3d 179 |
| Parties | (3rd Cir. 1999) JUAN ANGEL TORRES; ROSA MARIA DOMINGUEZ; AND ROSA MARIA TORRES, A MINOR, BY HER PARENTS AND NATURAL GUARDIANS JUAN ANGEL TORRES AND ROSA MARIA DOMINGUEZ v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION; MATTHEW DONAHUE; MARTIN CAPLAN; MAUREEN KELLY; JOSEPH CAPONE; AND JONATHAN COHEN MATTHEW DONAHUE; MARTIN CAPLAN; MAUREEN KELLY; JOSEPH CAPONE; AND JONATHAN COHEN, APPELLANTS |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit |
On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, (D.C. Civ. No. 97-5804) District Judge: Honorable Ronald L. Buckwalter
[Copyrighted Material Omitted]
Attorneys for Appellants: David W. Ogden Acting Assistant Attorney General Susan Shinkman Office of the United States Attorney Michael R. Stiles United States Attorney Barbara L. Herwig Katherine S. Gruenheck (argued) Appellate Staff United States Department of Justice Civil Division, Appellate Staff 601 D Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20530-0001
Attorney for Appellees: Richard Edmund Patton (argued) 2729 River Road New Hope, PA 18938
Before: Becker, Chief Judge, and Greenberg and Cudahy,* Circuit Judges
This matter comes on before this court on appeal from the district court's order partially denying appellants' motion seeking summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds. The appellants are Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") agents who applied for a search warrant for the appellees' residence and executed the warrant the next day. The issues on appeal relate to the execution of the warrant. The search was an aspect of an extensive DEA investigation into a large cocaine distribution ring reputedly run by Geraldo Nieves. During the investigation, the DEA secured the cooperation of Blake O'Farrow, who had been a participant in the Nieves ring. O'Farrow informed DEA Special Agent Matthew Donahue in September and November 1996, and again in January 1997, that Nieves was using a house at 3936 North Fifth Street in Philadelphia for storing, cutting, and bagging cocaine.
Based on the information obtained from O'Farrow, as well as other information secured during the investigation of the Nieves ring, Donahue prepared a probable cause affidavit and submitted it to a magistrate judge on January 30, 1997. That day, the magistrate judge signed a warrant authorizing a search of "the property known as 3936 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA" for "[c]ocaine, packaging materials, dilutents [sic], plastic packaging slips, heat sealer, scales, and a vice [sic]."
At approximately 6:00 a.m. on the next day, DEA Agents Martin Caplan, Maureen Kelly, Joseph Capone, and Jonathan Cohen went to 3936 North Fifth Street to execute the warrant.1 Donahue, however, did not go to the premises with the other agents. The occupants of the house were asleep when the agents arrived but appellee Rosa Maria Dominguez awoke to the sound of metal rattling. She went back to sleep only to reawaken to the sound of knocking and the agents' voices identifying themselves. Appellee Juan Angel Torres, who was sleeping in the same room, awoke and looked out the window where he saw people wearing DEA jackets. Dominguez (who put on a robe) and Torres (who wrapped himself in a towel) then went downstairs and looked out a ground floor window. Torres attempted to signal to the agents that Dominguez would open the door, but they nevertheless broke through the door with a battering ram.
The agents entered the home, pointed their guns at Torres and Dominguez, and ordered them to lie on the floor. The agents placed Torres but not Dominguez in handcuffs. The agents asked whether there were any weapons in the house, and Torres told them the location of two firearms in his bedroom. After he had been on the floor for about five minutes, Torres, still clad in his towel, was helped to the living room couch. Dominguez then was permitted to attend to the couple's two children upstairs. The agents did not point their guns at anyone after the initial entry.
The agents searched the entire premises. In their deposition testimony, Torres and Dominguez gave wide estimates for the duration of the search, varying from one and one-half to three hours. During this time, Torres (who remained handcuffed), Dominguez, and the children sat together on the couch. At some point, the agents permitted Dominguez to make breakfast for the children, and, in Torres's words, the children received nothing but "nice comments" from the agents. Eventually, the agents removed the handcuffs and allowed Torres to get dressed so that he could escort the agents to the building where he worked.2
The agents did not find drugs or drug paraphernalia in the home. They, however, seized several items, including a Glock 9mm semiautomatic handgun, a Ruger .357 magnum revolver, ammunition for those two weapons plus ammunition for a third weapon which they did not locate, a roll of plastic tape, and various papers, including earnings statements, phone cards, and a gas bill. These items were returned to appellees within five days.
Appellees filed their complaint in the district court on September 16, 1997. Ultimately, after amendments, the appellees asserted that they were entitled to recover under the Federal Tort Claims Act and directly under the Constitution for Fourth and Fifth Amendment violations with respect to the issuance and execution of the warrant. See Bivens v. Six Unknown Agents of the Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999 (1971). Following discovery, the agents moved for summary judgment, and the district court partially granted their motion analyzing the appellees' claims under the Fourth Amendment alone.
The district court held that appellees failed to allege a constitutional violation with respect to the agents' conduct up to and including the initial entry into appellees' home. In this regard, the court first determined that there was probable cause for the issuance of the warrant. The court then found that the agents had no reason to believe that they were executing the warrant at the wrong location. In so ruling, the court declined to place any significance in the fact that the warrant misdescribed the color of the front door of the home as the court found that this mistake was "trivial" given that the warrant otherwise described appellees' home accurately. The court then ruled that the agents acted lawfully in using a battering ram to break down the front door.
The district court, however, refused to grant summary judgment to the agents with respect to their conduct once they entered the home. Although the court found that their treatment of Dominguez and the children was "reasonable, and indeed, duly considerate under the circumstances," the court was "unable to find that the agents' conduct... was reasonable and not excessive" with respect to Torres's handcuffing for the duration of the search.
The court then concluded that the agents exceeded the scope of the warrant when they searched the appellees' entire home rather than just the basement. Although the warrant specifically authorized a search of "the property known as 3936 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA," the court determined that the warrant was "circumscribed" by the supporting probable cause affidavit, which stated that cocaine was stored in the basement. The court then indicated, however, that it was "possible" that exigent circumstances (, the presence of weapons and ammunition) justified a broader search of the entire home.
Overall the district court's memorandum opinion is ambiguous with respect to its disposition of the agents' motion for summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity for their conduct in searching beyond the basement. The court may have intended to grant the agents summary judgment based on its finding of exigent circumstances, but its use of the word "possible" suggests that the court found a factual issue for trial and hence denied summary judgment. Indeed, even the agents are uncertain as to how the court ruled for they explain in their reply brief that the "district court appears to have found that the scope of the search was probably supported by exigent circumstances, but reserved judgment." Reply br. at 4 n.2.3 Moreover, the agents in their opening brief defended the validity of the search to the extent that it went beyond the basement. Plainly, they would have had no reason to brief that issue if they had been granted summary judgment on it. In the circumstances, we conclude that the district court denied summary judgment with respect to appellees' claims that the search unconstitutionally exceeded the scope of the warrant.
The district court further ruled that the agents acted unlawfully by seizing items not specifically listed in the warrant. The district court later reconsidered this ruling, however, and in an order of January 5, 1999, granted summary judgment in the agents' favor as to the seizure of items from appellees' home.
The court also addressed appellees' allegation that the agents "destroy[ed] doors, ripp[ed] out ceilings and walls and overturn[ed] clothes and toys" during the search. The court found no evidence in the record to support this allegation, but refused to grant the agents summary judgment on the issue because their motion papers did not specifically address the property damage claim. Finally, the court held that appellees lacked standing to maintain any claims with respect to warrantless searches of other properties (, Torres's place of employment and property belonging to Torres's father) which allegedly took place on the day in question.
Agents Donahue, Caplan, Kelly, Capone, and Cohen, appeal to the extent that the district court denied them summary judgment on the basis of...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
United States v. Cain
...... enforcement officer. Commonwealth v. Cain ,. CP-02-CR-0015245-2016,. https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/CaseSearch . . . Detective. Anderson testified that earlier that day he had. received [ 8 ] a video with text ... Terry stop into a fullblown arrest.” Johnson ,. 592 F.3d at 448 (citing Baker, 50 F.3d at 1193;. Torres v. United States , 200 F.3d 179, 185 (3d. Cir.1999)). . . Nevertheless,. although these actions might not ......
-
Turner v. Sheriff of Marion County
...them.11 See Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692, 701-03, 101 S.Ct. 2587, 2593-94, 69 L.Ed.2d 340 (1981);12 Torres v. United States, 200 F.3d 179, 184-87 (3rd Cir.1999); Baker, 50 F.3d at 1191-93; Tom v. Voida, 963 F.2d 952, 957-59 (7th Cir.1992); United States v. Laing, 889 F.2d 281, 285-86 (......
-
Hernandez v. Conde
...to those who are present during a search if they have "good reason to fear violence or destruction of evidence." Torres v. United States, 200 F.3d 179, 186 (3d Cir.1999). See also Thompson v. City of Lawrence, 58 F.3d 1511, 1516 (10th Cir.1995) (holding that it was not unreasonable for poli......
-
In re Daniels
...acted is the determination of whether the plaintiff has asserted a violation of a constitutional right at all."); Torres v. United States, 200 F.3d 179, 184 (3d Cir.1999) ("A court ... need not consider whether the right implicated was clearly established ... if the plaintiff has not allege......