Thomas v. Roberts
| Decision Date | 15 August 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 00-11361,00-11361 |
| Citation | 261 F.3d 1160 |
| Parties | (11th Cir. 2001) TIFFANY THOMAS, a minor by her father Gregory Thomas, CARL G. CASEY, a minor by his mother Virgil M. Casey, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. R. G. ROBERTS, individually and in her official capacity as Assistant Principal, West Clayton Elementary School, ZANNIE BILLINGSLEA, et al., Defendants-Appellees |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Before BLACK, RONEY and COX, Circuit Judges.
The appellants, thirteen schoolchildren in Clayton County, Georgia, sued their teacher Tracey Morgan, Officer Zannie Billingslea of the Clayton County Police, their school's assistant principal R.G. Roberts, the school's principal Ralph Matthews, the Clayton County School District, and the County, alleging that they were subject to unconstitutional strip searches. The district court found that the strip searches1 were unconstitutional but granted summary judgment to all defendants on all claims, concluding that the individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity and the improper searches were not a product of School District or County policy. We affirm.2
On the morning of October 31, 1996, fifth-grader Sergio Evans brought to West Clayton Elementary School an envelope containing twenty-six dollars he had raised selling candy for a school trip. Sergio proceeded to the classroom of his teacher, defendant Tracey Morgan, and laid the envelope on a table near her desk. Moments later, Sergio noticed that the envelope was no longer on the table and informed Morgan, who asked the class if anyone had seen the money. None of the children in the class indicated that they knew what had happened to the envelope. Sergio searched his belongings, but failed to find the money. Morgan, who oversaw a class filled with children who were too poor to afford their school lunches, testified that she felt that the missing money presented a serious situation.
At this point, defendant Officer Zannie Billingslea of the Clayton County Police Department arrived to teach a class in drug awareness for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education ("DARE") program. Morgan left the class in Billingslea's hands, carrying out the room's trash cans to search through them for the envelope. After unsuccessfully attempting to contact Sergio's mother to see if Sergio had forgotten to bring the envelope to school, Morgan took the trash cans to the school's workroom. There Morgan met the school's assistant principal, defendant R.G. Roberts, and a school paraprofessional. Because the school's principal was not in the building at the time, Roberts was serving as acting principal.
Morgan informed Roberts that money was missing from her classroom and asked that she be allowed to conduct a search to find it. Roberts authorized a search, although her exact response is in dispute. Roberts maintains that she gave Morgan very specific limits, authorizing only a search of the girls' purses and the boys' pockets. Morgan testified that Roberts placed no specific limits on the search and simply approved a search, stating that "no child should have that amount of money on them." (Pls. Ex. Morgan Dep. at 60). Two students testified that they heard Morgan tell Billingslea that Roberts had authorized her to "strip search" the children.4 Roberts and Morgan also disagree as to whether Roberts authorized Morgan to use Billingslea in the search.
After speaking with Roberts, Morgan returned to her classroom and began to search for the envelope. Billingslea remained in the room. Morgan searched the students' book bags, desks, and purses. She then asked the students to remove their shoes, so she could determine if they had secreted the envelope in their socks. Finally, Morgan told the children to turn out their front pockets and allow her to pat down their back pockets. Morgan did not find the missing envelope; nor did the results of the search point to any individual student as a potential suspect. At this point, Morgan allowed three students who had been scheduled to hand out DARE ribbons to a third-grade class to leave the classroom. These students, despite being present when the envelope disappeared, were subject to no further investigation.
Morgan informed Billingslea, who had observed her efforts from the back of the room, that she had not found the envelope. Billingslea told Morgan that it had become fashionable for children, especially boys, to wear two or more pairs of pants and the envelope might be secreted in a lower layer. Morgan broke up the boys into groups of four and five and sent them group by group to the boys' restroom with Billingslea. Several of the boys testified that, once in the restroom, Billingslea pulled his pants and underwear down to his ankles to demonstrate what the children were required to do. Billingslea also informed the boys that if they didn't pull down their pants as directed, they would be suspended from school or taken to jail. All of the boys dropped their pants, and some of them dropped both their pants and underwear. One student testified that two girls from his neighborhood saw him drop his pants through the restroom's open door. As each student dropped his pants, Billingslea visually inspected the boy's underwear to ensure that the envelope was not inside.
While Billingslea was searching the boys, Lester Lenard Grace, a student in another fifth grade class, entered the restroom. Billingslea called Lenard over and asked him about the missing money. Lenard protested that he knew nothing about the money and wasn't even a member of Morgan's class. Billingslea told Lenard to pull out his pants pockets and loosen his belt. Billingslea then shook Lenard's pants to see if the envelope was secreted inside. When nothing fell out of Lenard's pants, Billingslea released him. The envelope was not found in the searches.
Once the boys had returned to the classroom, Morgan told all of the girls to line up in the hallway outside the girls' restroom. She then brought the girls into the restroom in groups of two to five students at a time. The students testified that Morgan made them lower their pants and raise their dresses or shirts. Most of the girls were also asked to lift their brassieres and expose their breasts to ensure that the envelope was not hidden under their bras. Some of the girls testified that Morgan touched them as she searched for the envelope. There is also testimony that Morgan warned the girls that they could be sent to "juvenile" for not complying. Cherika Sales, who first arrived at Morgan's classroom when the girls were lining up to be searched in the restroom, was subjected to the same search as the other girls. Although Cherika had been in another classroom the entire morning, Morgan first searched her personal belongings and then made Cherika pull her pants down and lift her bra above her breasts in the restroom. Again, the envelope was not found. Once the searches were complete, Morgan conducted no further investigation and the rest of the school day proceeded as normal.
The next day, three sets of parents complained to Principal Ralph Matthews and Roberts about the searches. Matthews assured them that the school would conduct a thorough investigation. Roberts then gathered the children and asked them to write statements describing the events of the previous day. After he read the children's statements, Matthews asked Morgan to give her version of events. The School District thereafter launched an investigation of its own into the matter. After reviewing the students' statements and meeting with Roberts, Matthews, and Morgan, the District's investigator concluded that the students were not "strip searched." The Clayton County Police Department performed its own investigation of Billingslea's conduct, which resulted in the issuance of a letter of reprimand against Billingslea and a reduction in his pay increase.5
The students filed suit in the Northern District of Georgia on May 27, 1997. Their amended complaint alleges several claims. First, the complaint alleges that Morgan, Roberts, Matthews, Billingslea, the District, and the County deprived the students "of their rights to privacy, to be secure in their persons and to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures as protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments . . . ." (R.2-52 at 21.) The complaint also alleges that the defendants deprived the students of their rights to due process as protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. Finally, the complaint alleges violations of the Georgia constitution and Georgia statutes. The complaint seeks compensatory and punitive damages as well as declaratory and injunctive relief.
The defendants moved for summary judgment, which the district court granted in a comprehensive ninety-one page order. First, the district court determined that the Fourth Amendment unreasonable search and seizure claim made applicable through the Fourteenth Amendment was the only viable federal claim. The district court accordingly dismissed the other federal claims and applied Fourth Amendment standards to the students' claims.6 The district court proceeded to find that: (1) the strip searches were unconstitutional; (2) despite the unconstitutional nature of the searches, the individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity; (3) the District was not liable for the actions of Morgan, Roberts, or Billingslea; (4) the County was not liable for the actions of Billingslea; and (5) the students' state law claims should be dismissed without prejudice. The students filed a motion to reopen the case to determine whether they were entitled to injunctive and declarative relief. Upon review, the district court denied the requested relief. This appeal followed.
The students contend...
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