Campbell v. Miller

• Decision Date: 28 August 2007
• Docket Number: No. 06-1981.,06-1981.
• Citation: 499 F.3d 711
• Parties: James CAMPBELL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Frank MILLER, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

499 F.3d 711

James CAMPBELL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Frank MILLER, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 06-1981.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued January 8, 2007.

Decided August 28, 2007.

Michael K. Sutherlin (argued), Robb A. Minich, Sutherlin & Associates, Indianapolis, IN, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Lakshmi Hasanadka (argued), Office of the Corporation Counsel, Indianapolis, IN, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge, and ROVNER and WOOD, Circuit Judges.

WOOD, Circuit Judge.

James Campbell was arrested in the front yard of his friend's house by Officer Frank Miller, an Indianapolis police officer who suspected that Campbell possessed marijuana. Miller and another officer each conducted an initial patdown search, which did not reveal any sign of weapons or contraband on Campbell. They decided, however, pursuant to an Indianapolis policy that instructs officers to conduct "immediate and thorough body search[es]" of those under arrest, to take Campbell into the open backyard of his friend's house and subject him to a strip search involving a visual inspection of Campbell's anal cavity. The backyard area was in plain sight of those inside both Campbell's friend's house and some of the neighbors' houses; indeed, Campbell's friend watched the search take place from his kitchen window. After the search, Campbell was issued a citation and released.

Campbell sued Officer Miller, other Indianapolis police officers involved in the arrest, and the City of Indianapolis ("the City") under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that the search and the City's policy that authorized it were unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. (He also raised various state law claims not relevant to this appeal.) The case was tried by a jury, which found for the defendants. Campbell appeals, arguing that no reasonable jury could have concluded that this was a reasonable search. He also challenges the instructions to the jury, as well as the district court's decision to exclude the testimony of three of his potential witnesses. We agree with Campbell in part. While there was evidence to support the jury's conclusion that Officer Miller had reasonable suspicion to conduct the search, we conclude that no reasonable jury could find that a strip search conducted in public for no identifiable reason conformed with the Fourth Amendment. We therefore reverse the judgment in favor of Officer Miller and remand for entry of judgment in Campbell's favor on his Rule 50(b) motion. This will necessitate further proceedings on the appropriate remedy. We affirm the judgment for the City, because what was objectionable about the search — that is, its public nature — was not caused by the City's policy or practice, and there was nothing in the court's evidentiary rulings that require us to set aside that part of the verdict.

I

On June 14, 2002, shortly before 8:00 p.m., Officer Kevin Duley, a detective with the Indianapolis Police Department, was patrolling in his police car in the area of 34th Street and Drexel Avenue in Indianapolis. Duley turned onto Drexel Avenue where he noticed three people standing in the middle of the street. Duley recognized one of them as a man named Antonio, with whom Duley had dealt in numerous prior drug investigations. As Duley drove closer to the threesome, he saw what he believed to be a hand-to-hand drug transaction. Duley continued driving toward them, at which point they scattered. One of the three people looked directly at Duley and then ran. Duley then broadcast a description on his police radio of the man who fled. Because he did not get a good look at the man's face, Duley described the suspect only as a black male with a dark, multi-colored, striped sweater who "might have braids." He said that the man was in the area of 34th and Drexel.

Roughly two blocks away, Officer Miller, who had heard the radio call and description, saw Campbell walking up a driveway at 3415 Colorado Avenue. Campbell later testified that he was visiting his friend, Kimo Parham, at that address. According to Miller, Campbell — a black male — was wearing dark pants and a multi-colored sweater and thus fit the description that Duley had broadcast. As Miller approached that house in his police car, Campbell continued walking up the driveway. Believing that Campbell was the suspect who had just run away from Officer Duley, Miller stopped his car, got out, told Campbell to stop and motioned to him to come over. Campbell did not stop right away; instead, he said something to the effect of, "No, you have me messed up," and began to back away from Miller. Campbell testified that he was shocked that he was being stopped, and that he wanted to get as close to his friend's house as possible so that someone inside might hear Officer Miller and come out to observe what was going on. In any event, Miller told Campbell to stop a second time, but Campbell continued moving toward the house. Miller then drew his gun and told Campbell to get on the ground. He testified that he did so because Campbell "was not complying with two verbal commands," and Miller was concerned that Campbell might have been armed. As Campbell continued to back away from Miller, Miller claimed that he saw Campbell drop something. Miller kept his gun trained on Campbell until another officer arrived on the scene, at which point Campbell stopped moving away and leaned against a car in the driveway where Miller handcuffed him.

Miller then reported over the radio that he had detained someone who met Duley's earlier description. Miller also informed another officer on the scene that Campbell had dropped something on the ground. Shortly thereafter, the other officer found a bag of marijuana in the spot where Miller told him to look, and he brought it over to Miller. Around the same time, Duley, who had arrived at 3415 Colorado by then, spoke with Miller. He told Miller that he put out the radio broadcast because he believed that he had witnessed a drug transaction. Miller then showed Duley the marijuana that was recovered, and Duley attempted to identify Campbell as the man he had seen earlier. Although Duley believed that Campbell's height, weight, complexion and clothing "matched perfectly," he was unable conclusively to identify Campbell since he had never gotten a good look at the suspect's face and hair. Campbell disputes this point. He testified at trial that Duley definitively stated to Miller that Campbell was not the man Duley had seen engage in the earlier suspected drug deal. Taking the facts in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, however, as we must at this stage, we credit Officer Duley's version of events.

After handcuffing Campbell, Miller performed a patdown search. Miller patted down Campbell's back, arms, torso, and thighs, but he did not find a weapon or any illegal substances. Officer Andrew Lamle, who had arrived by that time, also conducted his own patdown search and similarly found no weapons or contraband. Miller then searched through Campbell's pockets, turning up only a key chain and some Chapstick.

But the officers were not satisfied, and the searching was not over. Officers Lamle and Miller then escorted Campbell to Parham's backyard. Parham's house is situated in such a way that his house and three other houses essentially surround the backyard. Parham's backyard, which Parham describes as "open," thus may be viewed by people in one of the other three homes, in addition to anyone standing in Parham's house. Parham himself had a "clear view" from his kitchen window of his backyard and in fact watched the search that took place. Once in the backyard, Miller undid Campbell's belt buckle, pulled his pants partway down, and had him lean forward. Miller then separated Campbell's buttocks and did a "visual inspection" so as to "make sure he had nothing shoved into his anal area...." Finding nothing, Miller had Campbell sign a summons to return to court and released him. Instead of taking Campbell to the station to be booked, the police issued him a summons, because of an order that had gone into effect on April 19, 2002, from the Executive Committee of the Marion County Superior Court ("the Superior Court Order"). That order, issued in an effort to address prisoner overcrowding at the Marion County Lock-up facility, advised law enforcement officials to issue summonses in lieu of arrest for individuals arrested for certain non-violent misdemeanors including possession of marijuana.

Miller testified that he conducted the search pursuant to the Indianapolis Police Department General Order 18.02. That order states, in relevant part, "Any officer making an arrest or otherwise coming into control of a prisoner must make an immediate and thorough body search of the prisoner, including footwear, and all property under the prisoner's control (bags, purses, backpacks, etc.)." The order does not distinguish between arrests where an arrestee is taken into custody and those where the arrestee is issued a citation and released.

In the end, Campbell was never prosecuted for anything. He brought this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against a number of Indianapolis police officers, including Officer Miller, claiming that the backyard search violated the Fourth Amendment. Specifically, Campbell contended that the police lacked reasonable suspicion to conduct such an invasive search in a public area. He also sued the City, claiming that the search was done pursuant to the City's policy and that there was a practice and custom of performing such searches without the requisite justification. At the close of Campbell's case-in-chief, the district judge granted judgments as a matter of law in favor of certain defendants, leaving only the claims against Officer Miller and the City for the jury. Before the case was submitted to the jury, Campbell moved under FED. R. CIV. P. 50(a) for judgment as a matter of law; the court denied that...