Crowe v. County of San Diego
| Decision Date | 14 January 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 05-56311.,No. 05-55467.,No. 05-56364.,No. 05-55542.,05-55467.,05-56364.,05-55542.,05-56311. |
| Citation | 593 F.3d 841 |
| Parties | Michael CROWE; Stephen Crowe; Cheryl A. Crowe; Judith Ann Kennedy; Shannon Crowe, a Minor, through guardian ad litem Stephan Crowe; Zachary Treadway; Joshua David Treadway; Michael Lee Treadway; Tammy Treadway; Janet Haskell; Margaret Susan Houser; Christine Huff; Gregg Houser; Aaron Houser, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO; The City of Oceanside; Chris McDonough; Gary Hoover; Summer Stephan; Lawrence Blum; City of Escondido; National Institute for Truth Verification; Rick Bass, Defendants, and Mark Wrisley; Barry Sweeney; Ralph Claytor; Phil Anderson, Defendants-Appellants. Michael Crowe; Stephen Crowe; Cheryl A. Crowe, Plaintiffs-Appellants, Shannon Crowe, a minor, through guardian ad litem, Stephan Crowe, Plaintiff-Appellant, and Judith Ann Kennedy, Plaintiff, Zachary Treadway; Joshua David Treadway; Michael Lee Treadway; Tammy Treadway; Janet Haskell; Margaret Susan Houser; Christine Huff; Gregg Houser; Aaron Houser, Plaintiffs, v. County Of San Diego; The City of Oceanside; Chris McDonough; Gary Hoover; Summer Stephan; Lawrence Blum; City of Escondido; National Institute for Truth Verification; Rick Bass, Defendants, and Mark Wrisley; Barry Sweeney; Ralph Claytor; Phil Anderson, Defendants-Appellees. Stephen Crowe; Cheryl Crowe; Judith Ann Kennedy; Shannon Crowe, a minor through their guardian ad litem, Stephen Crowe; Zachary Treadway; Joshua David Treadway; Michael Lee Treadway; Tammy Treadway; Janet Haskell, Plaintiffs, Christine Huff, Plaintiff, and Margaret Susan Houser; Gregg Houser; Aaron Houser, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. County Of San Diego; Mark Wrisley; Barry Sweeney; Ralph Claytor; City of Escondido; Phillip Anderson; Summer Stephan; Rick Bass, Lieutenant, Defendants-Appellees. Michael Crowe; Stephen Crowe; Cheryl A. Crowe; Judith Ann Kennedy; Shannon Crowe, a minor, through guardian ad litem Stephen Crowe, Plaintiffs-Appellants, and Zachary Treadway; Joshua David Treadway; Michael Lee Treadway; Tammy Treadway; Janet Haskell; Margaret Susan Houser; Christine Huff; Gregg Houser; Aaron Houser, Plaintiffs, v. County Of San Diego; The City Of Oceanside; Chris Mcdonough; Gary Hoover; Summer Stephan; Lawrence Blum; City Of Escondido; National Institute For Truth Verification; Rick Bass; Mark Wrisley; Barry Sweeney; Ralph Claytor; Phil Anderson, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
John J. Sansone, County Counsel, County of San Diego, George W. Brewster Jr. (argued), Senior Deputy; attorneys for defendant-appellant Summer Stephan.
Richard J. Schneider, Glnar J. Fozi, Daley & Heft; Steven J. Renick (argued), Manning & Marder, Kass Ellrod, Ramirez; attorneys for defendants-appellees and Cross-Appellants City of Escondido, Mark Wrisley, Barry Sweeney, Ralph Claytor, and Phil Anderson.
Diana L. Field, Ferguson, Praet & Sherman; Timothy T. Coates, Cynthia T. Tobisman, Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland; attorneys for defendants-appellees and cross-appellants City of Oceanside, Oceanside Police Department, and Christopher McDonough.
Kenneth H. Moreno, Scott J. Loeding, Murchinson & Cumming; attorneys for defendant-appellee Lawrence N. Blum, Ph.D.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, John S. Rhoades, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-99-00241-JSR.
Before: STEPHEN S. TROTT, SIDNEY R. THOMAS, and RAYMOND C. FISHER, Circuit Judges.
The opinion filed on January 14, 2010, 2010 WL 114956, is hereby amended as follows. The paragraph beginning at the bottom of Slip. Op. page 1115 and continuing onto page 1116 is to be deleted and the following inserted.
We reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment as to: (1) Michael and Aaron's Fifth Amendment claims; (2) Michael and Aaron's Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process claims; (3) all otherwise surviving Fourth Amendment claims against McDonough; (4) all otherwise surviving claims against Blum; (5) the Crowes' deprivation of familial companionship claim based on Michael's detention; (6) the Housers' deprivation of familial companionship claim based on Aaron's detention; and (7) all otherwise surviving claims against the Cities of Escondido and Oceanside. We affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment as to: (1) Aaron's Fourth Amendment claim that police lacked probable cause to arrest him; (2) Michael's Fourth Amendment claim that police lacked probable cause to arrest him; (3) Michael's claim that police violated his Fourth Amendment rights by strip searching him; (4) Aaron's Fourth Amendment claim that the warrants authorizing the search of his home were not supported by sufficient probable cause; (5) the conspiracy claims against McDonough; (6) Michael and Aaron's defamation claims against Stephan; and (7) Aaron's defamation claim against Blum. Additionally, we affirm the district court's denial of summary judgment as to: (1) Cheryl, Stephen, and Shannon Crowes' claims that police violated his Fourth Amendment rights by strip searching them; (2) Cheryl and Stephen's Fourth Amendment claims that the warrant authorizing police to draw blood samples was not supported by probable cause; (3) Cheryl and Stephen's Fourth Amendment claims of wrongful detention; and (4) the Crowes' deprivation of familial companionship claims based on the placement of Michael and Shannon in protective custody. We remand to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Each party shall bear their own costs on appeal. AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; REMANDED.
This civil rights case arose from the investigation and prosecution of innocent teenagers for a crime they did not commit. Michael Crowe, Aaron Houser, and Joshua Treadway were wrongfully accused of the murder of Michael's 12-year-old sister Stephanie Crowe. After hours of grueling, psychologically abusive interrogation— during which the boys were isolated from their families and had no access to lawyers—the boys were indicted on murder charges and pre-trial proceedings commenced.
A year later, DNA testing revealed Stephanie's blood on the shirt of a transient, Richard Tuite, who had been seen in the Crowes' neighborhood on the night of the murder and reported by several neighbors for strange and harassing behavior. The shirt had been collected as part of the initial investigation, but never fully tested. Charges against the boys were eventually dropped, and Tuite was convicted of Stephanie's murder.
Michael, Aaron, Joshua, and their families filed a complaint against multiple individuals and government entities who had been involved in the investigation and prosecution of the boys. The complaint alleged, amongst other claims, constitutional violations under the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments, and defamation claims. In two separate orders, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants as to the majority of the plaintiffs' claims. The Crowes and the Housers now appeal the bulk of those orders and several defendants cross-appeal the district court's denial of summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds as to several claims. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
On the night of January 20, 1998, police received several 911 phone calls reporting that a man—later identified as Richard Tuite—was bothering people in the neighborhood in which the Crowe family resided. Witnesses testified that Tuite appeared drunk or high. One witness heard him yell "I'm going to kill you you fucking bitch." Another witness saw him spinning around in circles. Between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., Tuite entered one house in the neighborhood after the occupant, Dannette Mogelinski, mistook his knock for that of a neighbor. Tuite repeatedly asked for Tracy. Mogelinski said she did not know Tracy. Tuite left, but then opened the door and again asked for Tracy. Mogelinski again said she did not know Tracy, and Tuite left. Around 7:50 p.m. Shannon Homa called 911 to report a man behaving strangely in an area near the Crowes' home. At approximately 9:28 p.m., Gary West, a neighbor of the Crowes, called 911 to report a transient who had knocked on his door and said he was looking for a girl.
Escondido police officer Scott Walters was dispatched to the area. As Officer Walters drove toward the Crowe house, he noticed a door next to the garage close. He could not see who closed the door. Officer Walters then noted in his log that the transient was "gone on arrival" and left the scene at 9:56 p.m.
Sometime between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., 12-year-old Stephanie Crowe was stabbed to death in her bedroom. An autopsy determined that Stephanie was stabbed numerous times with a knife with a 5-6 inch blade.
Stephanie was found dead by her grandmother the next morning around 6:30 a.m. Paramedics were the first to respond to the 911 call. Defendant Escondido Police Department Detective Barry Sweeney arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. Police checked all of the doors and windows in the house and found no signs of forced entry. However, they did discover that a door leading to the master bedroom, a door located near the garage,1 and at least one window had not been locked during the night.
Police questioned all of the members of the Crowe...
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