Callahan v. Millard County

• Citation: 494 F.3d 891
• Decision Date: 16 July 2007
• Docket Number: No. 06-4135.,06-4135.
• Parties: Afton CALLAHAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MILLARD COUNTY; The Central Utah Narcotics Task Force; Sevier County; Piute County; Mt. Pleasant City; Wayne County; Richfield City; Salina City; Gunnison City; Ephraim City; Cordell Pearson, in his official and individual capacity; Marty Gleave, in his official and individual capacity; Clark Thomas in his official and individual capacity; Dwight Jenkins, in his official and individual capacity; Jeffrey Whatcott, in his official and individual capacity; and John Does I-IX in their official and individual capacities, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (10th Circuit)

494 F.3d 891

Afton CALLAHAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MILLARD COUNTY; The Central Utah Narcotics Task Force; Sevier County; Piute County; Mt. Pleasant City; Wayne County; Richfield City; Salina City; Gunnison City; Ephraim City; Cordell Pearson, in his official and individual capacity; Marty Gleave, in his official and individual capacity; Clark Thomas in his official and individual capacity; Dwight Jenkins, in his official and individual capacity; Jeffrey Whatcott, in his official and individual capacity; and John Does I-IX in their official and individual capacities, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 06-4135.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

July 16, 2007.

James K. Slavens, Fillmore, UT, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Peter Stirba (Barbara L. Townsend and Meb W. Anderson with him on the brief), Stirba & Associates, Salt Lake City, UT, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before KELLY and EBEL, Circuit Judges, and MURGUIA,^* District Judge.

MURGUIA, District Judge.

In this civil rights action, Plaintiff-Appellant Afton Callahan appeals from the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the numerous Defendant-Appellees. The district court held that the individual officers were entitled to qualified immunity because Mr. Callahan did not establish that the officers violated a clearly established right. Holding that the district court was correct in its determination that Mr. Callahan's constitutional rights were violated, but incorrect in its determination that these rights were not clearly established, we reverse in part and remand.

Background

This appeal evolves from a police raid of Mr. Callahan's home on March 19, 2002. Earlier in the day, a confidential informant— who assisted the Central Utah Narcotics Task Force after being charged with possession of methamphetamine—saw Mr. Callahan and discussed a potential sale of methamphetamine later that day. The confidential informant then informed an officer of the task force of the conversation.

According to the findings of the district court, the confidential informant began that evening by drinking "between six to eight beers in three hours." He then went to Mr. Callahan's home, where he "ingested or tasted a sample of the methamphetamine." After establishing that he could purchase methamphetamine that evening, the confidential informant left Mr. Callahan's home to report the plan of purchasing a gram of methamphetamine for $100 to the task force.

During their conversations with the informant, the officers learned that he was intoxicated. Concerned about his competency, the officers supplied the confidential informant with coffee and monitored him. They were unaware that he also had ingested methamphetamine.

Despite the confidential informant's condition, the officers continued with the planned drug transaction. They wired the confidential informant, gave him a marked $100 bill, and worked out a signal for him to give the officers once the exchange was completed. The officers then drove the confidential informant to Mr. Callahan's home.

Inside the home, the confidential informant asked Mr. Callahan for methamphetamine. Mr. Callahan retrieved a quantity of drugs. In exchange for a portion of the quantity, the confidential informant gave Mr. Callahan the marked bill. After the deal was completed, the confidential informant gave a variation of the pre-arranged signal to the task force officers.

Hearing the signal, the officers entered Mr. Callahan's home through a porch door. Once inside, they ordered the confidential informant, Mr. Callahan, and two other individuals to the floor. During their entry, the officers saw Mr. Callahan drop a plastic bag, which they later confirmed contained methamphetamine. After the four persons were on the floor, the officers conducted a protective sweep of the home. The Utah Court of Appeals later determined that Mr. Callahan consented to the protective sweep.

As a result of the search of Mr. Callahan and his home, the officers found evidence of a drug sale and possession. On the confidential informant, they found a small bag of methamphetamine. On Mr. Callahan, they found the marked bill. In Mr. Callahan's home, they found drug syringes. The officers did not have an arrest or search warrant at any time during these events.

Based on this evidence, Mr. Callahan was charged with possession and distribution of methamphetamine. The trial court found that the evidence was admissible because the existence of exigent circumstances made the search reasonable despite the absence of a warrant. The Utah Court of Appeals reversed this decision and Mr. Callahan's subsequent conviction. Notably, the Utah Attorney General's office conceded on appeal that no exigent circumstances existed, instead arguing that the evidence would have been discovered inevitably. The court of appeals disagreed and applied the Attorney General's concession that there were no exigent circumstances.

Applying the ruling of the Utah Court of Appeals, Mr. Callahan filed claims in the United States Court for the District of Utah. Mr. Callahan alleged that the actions of the task force violated his constitutional rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. Additionally, Mr. Callahan brought claims against municipalities for failure to supervise the task force and several state law claims.

On matters not on appeal, the district court dismissed Mr. Callahan's claims against the municipalities because Mr. Callahan did not show any official policy or custom related to the actions of the task force. Combined with the dismissal of the claims against the task force under qualified immunity—as later discussed—the district court declined to exercise jurisdiction over Mr. Callahan's state law claims. This closed Mr. Callahan's case.

Regarding the claims against the task force, the district court dismissed the claims because it found that qualified immunity shielded the officers. In so doing, it found that despite an assumption that the task force violated Mr. Callahan's constitutional rights, those constitutional rights were not clearly established. Specifically, the district court examined the application of the "consent-once-removed" doctrine, finding that although three circuit courts have upheld the doctrine, the recent Supreme Court decision in Georgia v. Randolph, 547 U.S. 103, 126 S.Ct. 1515, 164 L.Ed.2d 208 (2006), allowed the district court to assume Mr. Callahan's constitutional rights were violated. On the other hand, the approval of the doctrine by three circuit courts prevented the district court from finding that those rights were clearly established.

On appeal, Mr. Callahan contends that summary judgment should not have been granted based on qualified immunity derived from the "consent once removed" doctrine. This argument consists of two components. First, from Mr. Callahan's perspective, it is clear that the actions of the task force violated his constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment. Second, Mr. Callahan contends that because Tenth Circuit law requires exceptions to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment be well delineated and carefully drawn, the adoption of the doctrine by other circuits is irrelevant.

Discussion

When reviewing summary judgment orders based on qualified immunity, the approach differs from other summary judgment decisions. Cortez v. McCauley, 478 F.3d 1108, 1114 (10th Cir.2007). Once a qualified immunity defense is asserted, the burden shifts to the plaintiff. First, the plaintiff must "establish that the defendant violated a constitutional right." Id. (citing Reynolds v. Powell, 370 F.3d 1028, 1030 (10th Cir.2004)). If the plaintiff fails to satisfy this initial requirement, the court's inquiry ends. Cortez, 478 F.3d at 1114 ("If no constitutional right would have been violated were the allegations established, there is no necessity for further inquiries concerning qualified immunity.") (quoting Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001)). If the plaintiff establishes that a constitutional right was violated, then the plaintiff must also show that the violated right was clearly established. Cortez, 478 F.3d at 1114. Whether the right was clearly established is examined under the "specific context of the case, not as a broad general proposition." Id. (quoting Saucier, 533 U.S. at 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151). "The relevant, dispositive inquiry in determining whether a right is clearly established is whether it would be clear to a reasonable officer that his conduct was unlawful in the situation." Id. If reasonable officers would not have been aware of the clearly unlawful nature of their actions, qualified immunity applies and summary judgment would be appropriate. Id. (citing Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 341, 106 S.Ct. 1092, 89 L.Ed.2d 271 (1986)).

Even under this framework for analyzing qualified immunity, it remains that a district court's determination of qualified immunity is a question of law that we review de novo. Cortez, 478 F.3d at 1115 (citing Bisbee v. Bey, 39 F.3d 1096, 1099 (10th Cir.1994)). Summary judgment is appropriate only "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 . . . the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). "We review the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Cortez, 478 F.3d at 1115.

I. The actions of the Task Force violated Mr. Callahan's constitutional rights.

The Fourth Amendment protects "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const. amend. IV. When examining a search or seizure, the central question is whether the actions were reasonable. United States v. McCullough, 457 F.3d 1150, 1163 (10th Cir.2006) (citing Illinois v. McArthur, 531 U.S....