Shuman v. Penn Manor School Dist.
| Citation | 422 F.3d 141 |
| Decision Date | 07 September 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-2715.,04-2715. |
| Parties | Joshua SHUMAN, a Minor by and Through His Mother and Natural Guardian, Teresa Shertzer, Teresa Shertzer, Appellants v. PENN MANOR SCHOOL DISTRICT, Penn Manor School Board, Donald Stewart, Individually, Janice M. Mindish, Individually, Brian D. Baddick, Individually, Philip B. Gale, Individually, Carole Fay, Individually, (Amended See Clerk's Order of 8/11/04). |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit) |
Deirdre A. Agnew (Argued), West Chester, PA, for Appellants.
Ellis H. Katz (Argued), Sweet, Stevens, Tucker & Katz, New Britain, PA, for Appellees.
Jason R. Wiley, School District of Philadelphia, Office of General Counsel, Philadelphia, PA, for Appellees, Penn Manor School Board, Donald Stewart and Janice M. Mindish.
Before NYGAARD,* SMITH, and FISHER, Circuit Judges.
This is an appeal from the District Court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants Penn Manor School District, Penn Manor School Board, and several administrators of Penn Manor High School and against plaintiff Joshua Shuman ("Shuman"), a student at the Penn Manor High School. Shuman alleges that the defendants violated his due process rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments and his right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment during the course of an investigation into an incident of sexual misconduct between Shuman and a female classmate. We find no violation of Shuman's constitutional rights and will affirm the judgment of the District Court.
On December 7, 2001, an incident of sexual misconduct took place between Shuman and Olivia Becker ("Becker"), a female student at the Penn Manor High School, during their agricultural science class. The nature of the sexual misconduct — whether consensual or not — is firmly disputed by both students; however, because the details of the underlying incident are not relevant for our purposes, we turn to the school's investigation of the incident, which is said by Shuman to have deprived him of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
On December 10, 2001, Becker spoke with Assistant Principal Phillip B. Gale ("Gale") and relayed her version of events, reporting that Shuman had touched her in a sexual manner without her consent three days earlier. Gale then called Shuman to his office at approximately 10:15 a.m. where he was questioned for ten to fifteen minutes regarding the incident. Shuman denied forcibly touching Becker and instead claimed that the incident was consensual. Shuman also named students sitting in close proximity to Shuman and Becker during their class as potential witnesses. When asked to describe the conversation between himself and Gale, Shuman testified in his deposition:
He asked me if I knew why I was there and asked ___ he had asked about a situation that had occurred on the 7th. And I said what situation and he said the one concerning you and Olivia Becker. And I said, yeah, I know that there was something there but I didn't figure it was a situation there. And he said that she was claiming that I physically forced my hand upon her, and that she was very upset about it. And then I told him what I just went through and told you during the whole story and he said the stories weren't matching and asked me if I knew about what she was talking about. I said I had no idea and he said, well, I'd have to wait there while he called some witnesses down, to see if he could find a witness.
A. 161-62 (Dep.Shuman).
Following this meeting, Gale instructed Shuman to sit in a small conference room across the hallway from Gale's office. Shuman stayed in the conference room and did schoolwork for the next several hours. During that time, Gale claims that he reinterviewed Becker, informing her that Shuman had denied her version of the events and characterized the incident between them as consensual. According to Gale, Becker adamantly denied that the incident was consensual and encouraged Gale to speak with three friends with whom she confided after the incident. Gale claims he interviewed these students after his second meeting with Becker. Shuman disputes that Gale spoke with Becker a second time or that he spoke to these additional witnesses at all.1
At approximately 11:30 a.m., Gale escorted Shuman to the cafeteria, where Shuman ate alone and apart from Gale and the other faculty members. After lunch, Gale escorted Shuman back to the conference room where Shuman stayed for the remainder of the day. Shuman left the room only one other time, before lunch, to get a drink of water.
Gale later returned to the conference room with Assistant Principal Brian D Baddick ("Baddick"). Together, Gale and Baddick questioned Shuman again about the incident with Becker. This meeting lasted about ten minutes. Gale returned to the conference room again around 1:15 p.m. and informed Shuman that he was going to be suspended as punishment for the "inappropriate conduct." A. 177 (Dep.Shuman).
Sometime after 1:00 p.m., Gale telephoned Shuman's mother, Teresa Shertzer ("Shertzer"), and informed her of the incident involving Shuman and of the resulting four-day suspension. Gale also requested that Shertzer pick Shuman up from school at that time. Shertzer arrived at the school around 2:00 p.m.
On December 13th, Shertzer received a letter dated December 10, 2001, indicating that Shuman would be suspended from December 11, 2001 until December 14, 2001, for A. 982. The letter also stated that Shuman and Shertzer were required to attend a reinstatement conference with Gale before Shuman could return to school. Shuman's reinstatement conference was held on December 14, 2001, and was conducted by Janice M. Mindish ("Mindish"), the principal of the Penn Manor High School, and Gale. Shuman attended with his mother, his step-father, and his attorney. Shuman returned to school on December 17, 2001.
On June 5, 2002, by and through his mother, Shuman filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging a series of federal constitutional and state law claims.2 On August 27, 2002, the District Court granted in part and denied in part the defendants' motion to dismiss. The following claims in nine counts then remained: violation of procedural due process rights (in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments); violation of Fourth Amendment rights; violation of the right to equal protection of the law under the Fourteenth Amendment; violation of First Amendment rights; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; and negligent infliction of emotional distress. On May 17, 2004, the District Court granted the Penn Manor Defendants' motion for summary judgment on Shuman's First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment claims and dismissed his state law claims for lack of jurisdiction.
On June 15, 2004, Shuman filed a timely notice of appeal. On appeal, Shuman contends that the District Court erred in its determination that the Penn Manor Defendants did not violate Shuman's due process rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments and his right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. Shuman additionally argues that should the Court reverse any part of the District Court's decision, remanding the matter for trial, then his state law claims should be reinstated and heard by the District Court.
"We exercise plenary review over the District Court's grant of summary judgment" and "apply the same standard that the District Court should have applied." Abramson v. William Paterson Coll. of N.J., 260 F.3d 265, 276 (3d Cir.2001). A court should grant summary judgment "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In evaluating the evidence, "a court must view the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and draw all inferences in that party's favor." Armbruster v. Unisys Corp., 32 F.3d 768, 777 (3d Cir.1994). While the individual pieces of evidence alone may not suffice to make out the claims asserted, we must review the record as a whole picture. Woodson v. Scott Paper Co., 109 F.3d 913, 921 (3d Cir.1997).
This Court reviews questions of law de novo. United States v. Hendricks, 395 F.3d 173, 176 (3d Cir.2005).
Section 1983 imposes civil liability upon any person who, acting under the color of state law, deprives another individual of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Gruenke v. Seip, 225 F.3d 290, 298 (3d Cir.2000). This section does not create any new substantive rights but instead provides a remedy for the violation of a federal constitutional or statutory right. Id. (citing Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 144 n. 3, 99 S.Ct. 2689, 61 L.Ed.2d 433 (1979)). To establish valid claims under § 1983, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendants, while acting under color of state law, deprived him of a right secured by the Constitution or the laws of the United States. Mark v. Borough of Hatboro, 51 F.3d 1137, 1141 (3d Cir.1995) (citing Moore v. Tartler, 986 F.2d 682, 685 (3d Cir.1993)).
Shuman alleges that the Penn Manor Defendants deprived him of his due process rights under the Fourth Amendment as a result of the school's investigation into the incident between Shuman and Becker. Shuman's Fourth Amendment claim stems from what he alleges was an unlawful seizure — i.e., when he was held in the administrative offices of Penn Manor High School from approximately 10:15 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on December 10, 2001. Shuman does not...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Trafton v. City of Woodbury
...under color of state law. Gomez v. Toledo, 446 U.S. 635, 640, 100 S.Ct. 1920, 64 L.Ed.2d 572 (1980); Shuman ex rel. Shertzer v. Penn Manor School Dist., 422 F.3d 141, 146 (3d Cir.2005). Government officials, however, may assert a defense of qualified immunity. “ ‘The doctrine of qualified i......
-
Stradford v. Sec'y Pa. Dep't of Corr.
...of N.J. Rifle & Pistol Clubs, Inc. v. Att'y Gen. N.J. , 910 F.3d 106, 125 (3d Cir. 2018) (quoting Shuman ex rel. Shertzer v. Penn Manor Sch. Dist. , 422 F.3d 141, 151 (3d Cir. 2005) ). "The Equal Protection Clause does not forbid classifications." Nordlinger v. Hahn , 505 U.S. 1, 10, 112 S.......
-
Mccauley v. Univ. Of The V.I.
...movement and location are subject to the ordering and direction of teachers and administrators.” Shuman v. Penn Manor Sch. Dist., 422 F.3d 141, 149 (3d Cir.2005) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). Unlike the strictly controlled, smaller environments of public elementary and h......
-
Moore v. Solanco Sch. Dist.
...existence of purposeful discrimination; and2. the defendant's personal involvement in this discrimination.See Shuman v. Penn Manor Sch. Dist. , 422 F.3d 141, 151 (3d Cir. 2005) (citing Andrews v. Philadelphia , 895 F.2d 1469, 1478 (3d Cir. 1990) ). The plaintiff must show that any disparate......