Cortez v. McCauley
| Decision Date | 10 February 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-2062.,04-2062. |
| Citation | 438 F.3d 980 |
| Parties | Rick CORTEZ and Tina Cortez, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. John McCAULEY, James Gonzales, Curtis Sanchez, Shureke Covington, and Joe Bowdich in their individual capacities, the Board of Commissioners of the County of Bernalillo, New Mexico, Defendants-appellants. and Raquel Villegas, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Mary Y.C. Han (Paul J. Kennedy with her on the brief), of Kennedy & Han, P.C., Albuquerque, NM, for Plaintiffs-Appellees.
William D. Slease (Jonlyn M. Martinez with him on the brief), of Slease & Martinez, P.A., Albuquerque, NM, for Defendants-Appellants.
Before EBEL and HENRY, Circuit Judges, and WHITE, District Judge.*
The Defendants-Appellants appeal from the district court's denial of their motion for partial summary judgment based on qualified immunity. "A district court's denial of a motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds is an appealable decision under 28 U.S.C. § 1291." Bisbee v. Bey, 39 F.3d 1096, 1099 (10th Cir.1994).
The Plaintiffs-Appellees commenced this action, alleging claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 as well as state law claims under New Mexico law, seeking damages from employees of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department and the Board of County Commissioners of Bernalillo, New Mexico ("Board"). The Plaintiffs alleged, inter alia, that the Defendants (1) unlawfully arrested and interrogated the Plaintiffs; (2) used excessive force on the Plaintiffs; and (3) unreasonably searched the Plaintiffs' home, all in violation of the Plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment rights. The district court denied the Defendants' motion for partial summary judgment as to Defendants McCauley, Gonzales, Sanchez, and Covington. Furthermore, with respect to the other County Defendants, Bowdich and the Board, the court concluded that the Plaintiffs had made a meritorious showing under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(f). Consequently, these Defendants' motions for partial summary judgment were denied without prejudice pending further discovery. For the following reasons, we affirm in part and reverse in part.
On May 26, 2001, at 12:24 a.m., the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department received a telephone call from a nurse at Saint Joseph's Hospital alerting them that a mother, Raquel Villegas ("Ms.Villegas"), had brought her two-year-old girl to the hospital alleging that the child had complained that the "boyfriend" of her babysitter1 had "hurt her pee pee." In response to this allegation, the Defendants McCauley, Gonzales, Sanchez, and Covington were dispatched to Plaintiffs' residence. The officers did not wait to receive the results of the medical examination of the child, did not interview the mother of the child, and did not attempt to obtain a warrant.
At approximately 1:00 a.m. the deputies made contact with the Plaintiffs. Rick Cortez was asleep when he was suddenly awakened by noises and lights in his back yard. He heard a knock on the front door. Wearing only a pair of shorts, Rick Cortez opened the front door, and saw two police officers through the closed screen door. They ordered him to exit his home. As he opened the screen door and began to leave the house the officers seized him, handcuffed him, read him his Miranda2 rights, and placed him in the back of a patrol car where he was subjected to questioning.
Tina Cortez was awakened by her husband as he got out of bed. Shortly after Rick Cortez left the bedroom, she followed him. She reached the front door just in time to watch the Defendants handcuff her husband and place him in the back of the patrol car. Tina Cortez headed toward the bedroom in order to make a telephone call, but before she could complete the call Defendant McCauley entered the home and seized Tina Cortez by the arm and physically escorted her from her home. The officer placed her in a separate patrol car where she was subjected to questioning. Defendant McCauley did allow Tina Cortez to use his cell phone. At this time the Defendants performed a warrantless search of the home, purportedly to find additional children that might be present and to eliminate the possibility of any unknown threat to officer safety that may have been present.
During the subsequent interrogations of the Plaintiffs, the Defendants learned that Tina Cortez managed a small day care facility in which she took care of several children during the day. The Defendants further learned that Ms. Villegas engaged in a verbal altercation with the Plaintiffs after the Plaintiffs informed her that they would no longer take care of her child. Additionally, while providing his statement, Rick Cortez also informed the officers that the handcuffs were too tight and caused excessive pain. Despite his declaration and the fact that Rick Cortez supposedly was not under arrest, the officers never loosened the handcuffs.
As these events unfolded at the Cortez's residence, Officer Zuniga and Detective Foster made contact with Ms. Villegas at the hospital. Ms. Villegas provided an unsworn written statement in which she described the events that lead to her accusation. She also recounted a verbal dispute she had with the Plaintiffs. Additionally, Detective Foster was informed by the nurse who conducted the examination that "no evidence of penile penetration was present." Further, the nurse identified two potential sources of the child's vaginal irritation.3
Because the hospital did not find any evidence of molestation, the Plaintiffs were released from detention and permitted to reenter their home. The dispatch report for the incident indicated that they were released sometime between 1:49 a.m. and 2:16 a.m. on May 26, 2001. Rick Cortez was never charged with a crime associated with the allegations of Ms. Villegas.4
Based on this early morning encounter with law enforcement officers the Plaintiffs filed suit. Appellants McCauley, Gonzales, Sanchez, Covington, and Bowdich moved for summary judgment on grounds of qualified immunity as to the federal civil-rights claim against them in their individual capacity. Defendants McCauley, Gonzales, Sanchez and Covington asserted they did not commit an unreasonable search and seizure as to either Plaintiff, and that excessive force was not used as to either Plaintiff. Defendant Bowdich argued he could not be held liable in his supervisory capacity. Shortly after the filing of the motion, the Defendants above joined with the Board of County Commissioners ("Board") and moved to have discovery stayed pending the outcome of their motion for summary judgment on the issue of qualified immunity. On March 17, 2004, the district court denied the Defendants' motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. This appeal followed.
"Because of the underlying purposes of qualified immunity, we review summary judgment orders deciding qualified immunity questions differently from other summary judgment decisions." Medina v. Cram, 252 F.3d 1124, 1128 (10th Cir.2001). When a defendant asserts a qualified immunity defense, the burden shifts to the plaintiff, who must first establish that the defendant violated a constitutional right. Reynolds v. Powell, 370 F.3d 1028, 1030 (10th Cir.2004). "If no constitutional right would have been violated were the allegations established, there is no necessity for further inquiries concerning qualified immunity." Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001). If, on the other hand, a violation has been shown, the next step in the qualified immunity sequence is to ask whether the constitutional right was clearly established. Id. "This inquiry, it is vital to note, must be undertaken in light of the specific context of the case, not as a broad general proposition...." Id. "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. at 202, 121 S.Ct. 2151. Summary judgment based on qualified immunity is appropriate if the law did not put the officer on notice that his conduct would be clearly unlawful. Id. (citing Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 341, 106 S.Ct. 1092, 89 L.Ed.2d 271 (1986)). If the plaintiff successfully establishes both a violation of a constitutional right and that the right was clearly established at the time of the alleged conduct, the burden shifts to the defendant, who must prove that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the defendant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Olsen v. Layton Hills Mall, 312 F.3d 1304, 1312 (10th Cir.2002).
The district court's denial of qualified immunity is a question of law which we review de novo. Bisbee v. Bey, 39 F.3d 1096, 1099 (10th Cir.1994). We review the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. at 1100. Summary judgment is appropriate only "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with 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).
The district court held that both Plaintiffs were subjected to arrest and search and that genuine issues of material fact existed as to the existence of probable cause. We believe our discussion will be clearer if each Plaintiff is discussed separately, along with the actions taken as to that Plaintiff.
In Oliver v. Woods, 209 F.3d 1179, 1186 (10th Cir.2000), we stated "[t]he Supreme Court has identified three types of police/citizen encounters: consensual encounters, investigative stops, and arrests."5 Consensual...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Gomes v. Wood
...Hunter v. Bryant, 502 U.S. 224, 228, 112 S.Ct. 534, 116 L.Ed.2d 589 (1991) (second brackets in original)); see also Cortez v. McCauley, 438 F.3d 980, 990-91 (10th Cir.2006) (noting that when the parties agree on the "`what-happened' questions," the question of whether "a[] [reasonable] offi......
-
B.T. v. David, CIV-05-1165 JB/RLP.
...violated a constitutional right; and (ii) that the constitutional right violated was clearly established. See Cortez v. McCauley, 438 F.3d 980, 988 (10th Cir.2006). "If the plaintiff fails to carry either part of [the] two part burden, the defendant is entitled to qualified immunity." Albri......
-
Cortez v. McCauley
...of qualified immunity except for one excessive force claim, which the panel determined warranted qualified immunity. Cortez v. McCauley, 438 F.3d 980, 1002 (10th Cir.2006). We reject the notion that an excessive force claim is subsumed in an unlawful arrest claim in the facts presented by t......
-
Ramos v. Carbajal
...violated a constitutional right; and (ii) that the constitutional right violated was clearly established. See Cortez v. McCauley, 438 F.3d 980, 988 (10th Cir.2006). "If the plaintiff fails to carry either part of [the] two part burden, the defendant is entitled to qualified immunity." Albri......
-
Bearing false witness: perjured affidavits and the Fourth Amendment.
...officers have a duty to conduct a reasonably thorough investigation prior to arresting a suspect ...."); see also Cortez v. McCauley, 438 F.3d 980, 990 (10th Cir. 2006); Sornberger v. City of Knoxville, 434 F.3d 1006, 1014-15 (7th Cir. 2006); Kingsland v. City of Miami, 382 F.3d 1220, 1229 ......