Elder v. Holloway
| Decision Date | 21 November 1990 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 88-1329. |
| Citation | 751 F. Supp. 858 |
| Parties | Charles K. ELDER and Beverly S. Elder, husband and wife, Plaintiffs, v. R.D. HOLLOWAY, and Other Unknown Employees and Agents, individually, and in their official capacity as police officers for the Ada County Sheriff's Office; Vaughn Killeen, as Sheriff of Ada County; and the County of Ada, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Idaho |
John C. Lynn, Lynn, Scott, Hackney & Jackson, Boise, Idaho, for plaintiffs.
James J. Davis, Stan J. Tharp, Eberle, Berlin, Kading, Turnbow & McKlveen, Chartered, Boise, Idaho, for defendants.
This suit arises out of the arrest and seizure of the plaintiff, Charles Elder, on April 27, 1987. The defendants in this action are Lieutenant R.D. Holloway, the officer in charge of the arrest, Ada County Sheriff Vaughn Killeen, who was present during the arrest, the County of Ada, and other unknown employees and/or agents. After receiving certified copies of two Florida arrest warrants for the arrest of Mr. Elder, Defendant Holloway made arrangements to arrest Mr. Elder in a public place, his place of work. However, before Mr. Holloway could arrest Mr. Elder at his place of work, Mr. Elder and his brother William Elder, who also worked at the same place, got word of the officer's intent, and left work early. Lt. Holloway and other officers, after finding out that the Elders had left work, proceeded to William Elder's residence, which was where Charles Elder was also residing at the time. The officers, once they arrived in the area, set up surveillance of the residence. They observed the Elder brothers loading what appeared to be camping equipment into a pickup. William Elder then was seen riding away from the home on horseback. The officers detained William, and confirmed with William that his brother was still in the house. William also told the officers that his brother had access to several firearms in the home. The officers then attempted to make telephone contact with Charles, but were unsuccessful until William used the police loudspeaker to convince Charles to answer the phone. By this time, other officers had arrived near the area and had blocked off the roads coming into the neighborhood. During the telephone conversation between Charles and William, the officers were advised that Charles had fallen inside the house after he suffered an epileptic seizure. During this conversation, Plaintiff Elder suffered another seizure. After he had recovered from this second seizure, Lt. Holloway began speaking on the phone with Charles. Lt. Holloway advised Charles that if he could not walk out of the house, then he should crawl out. After a few minutes, Charles did walk out of the residence. However, upon exiting the house, he took one step, turned slightly, and fell face down, hitting his head on the concrete walk which caused severe injuries. Emergency medical technicians were then called, and they arrived, treated Mr. Elder and transported him to the hospital.
Plaintiffs, Mr. Elder and his alleged common law wife, filed this suit on September 30, 1988. Three of the counts in the complaint pertain to alleged violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and two counts deal with common law tort claims. Plaintiffs claim that the arrest was a violation of Mr. Elder's constitutional rights which require that the defendants have a valid Idaho arrest warrant before seizing him in his home.
On June 1, 1989, the plaintiffs moved for partial summary judgment on Count One as against Lt. Holloway on the issue of liability. On July 6, 1989, the defendants filed their memorandum in opposition to this motion. The defendants, on August 30, 1990, filed their Motion for Summary Judgment. On October 19, 1990, the plaintiffs filed their memorandum in opposition to this motion, and on October 29, 1990, the defendants filed their reply brief.
On November 6, 1990, this court held a hearing on all pending motions to address the cross-motions for summary judgment. Having thoroughly reviewed the statements of counsel, along with the memoranda, affidavits, and exhibits in the record, and based upon the analysis to follow, the court has determined that defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment should be granted.
In this motion, plaintiffs seek summary judgment against Defendant Holloway on Count One as to his liability only. Count One is a claim against Lt. Holloway and his subordinates for the unreasonable seizure of Mr. Elder, which in turn resulted in Mr. Elder sustaining severe brain damage by his fall. Plaintiffs argue that without a valid Idaho arrest warrant, the defendants could not arrest Mr. Elder in his brother's home, unless there were exigent circumstances for a warrantless arrest. This is clearly the law, and the defendants do not dispute this. State v. Bradley, 106 Idaho 358, 679 P.2d 635 (1983) (); Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980).
Plaintiffs argue that for all practical purposes, the arrest occurred in the home because Mr. Elder was restrained in the home, once the defendants "constructively crossed" the threshold of the home by surrounding the home and requesting by police loudspeaker and telephone that Mr. Elder come out. Memorandum in Support of Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, filed June 1, 1989, at 5-6. In support of this argument, the plaintiffs point to the following "undisputed facts": (1) several armed officers surrounded the house; (2) roadblocks were established in the area of the residence; (3) plaintiff's brother William was detained and prevented from returning to his home; (4) Lt. Holloway did intend to arrest Charles Elder; and (5) a police loudspeaker and telephone were utilized to communicate with Mr. Elder that he should surrender. Id. at 7.
Initially, the defendant sets forth the prima facie case for establishing a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim. Simply stated, the plaintiffs must prove: (1) that the conduct complained of was committed by a person under the color of state law, and (2) that the conduct deprived the plaintiff of a constitutional right. Rinker v. County of Napa, 831 F.2d 829, 831 (9th Cir.1987). There is no dispute as to the first element. However, the defendants argue that none of plaintiff's constitutional rights were violated.
Defendants' arguments can be summarized as follows.
(a) The arrest conducted outside the home was valid even without a valid Idaho arrest warrant. The defendants note that the plaintiffs argue that even though Idaho statutory law1 can be interpreted as allowing an arrest without a warrant, the case law clearly requires that the officers have a valid Idaho arrest warrant to arrest an individual in his home. The defendants do not clearly dispute this; they simply attempt to distinguish Bradley and Payton, and argue that the arrest was made outside the home. Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, filed August 30, 1990, at 8-10.
(b) If the court finds that this was a constructive entry, then the arrest was still valid because there existed probable cause (based on the information received and the existence of the Florida warrants) and Mr. Elder was in plain view. Id. at 10-11. However, the court finds that this argument clearly does not take into consideration the courts' findings in Bradley, Payton, and United States v. Santana, 427 U.S. 38, 96 S.Ct. 2406, 49 L.Ed.2d 300 (1976).
(c) Exigent circumstances existed that would excuse the arrest warrant requirement. Citing a variety of authorities, defendants set forth several factors which justify a finding of exigent circumstances in this case: (1) suspect believed to be wanted for crime of violence, (Elder was wanted for aggravated battery) United States v. Salvador, 740 F.2d 752 (9th Cir. 1984); (2) suspect believed to be armed (several individuals informed the officers that Elder possessed and had access to guns, and in addition, sources had stated that Elder told them that he would not be arrested and would shoot it out with police) id.; (3) there was a clear showing of probable cause (the magistrate's signature on Florida warrants) United States v. Davis, 785 F.2d 610 (8th Cir.1986); (4) suspect believed to be in the premises (officers saw Elder enter the house) People v. Abney, 81 Ill.2d 159, 41 Ill.Dec. 45, 407 N.E.2d 543 (1980); (5) likelihood of flight (brothers packing camper) United States v. Williams, 612 F.2d 735 (3d Cir.1979); and (6) entry can be peaceable and during daylight hours (officers gave Elder an opportunity to surrender, the only possible entry was telephone contact with Elder, and these events occurred during the day) United States v. Davis, 785 F.2d 610 (8th Cir.1986). Based on these factors, the defendants argue that a constructive entry was necessary in order to prevent the potential harming of others inside or outside the premises which was located in a residential area. Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, filed July 6, 1989, at 18-23; Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, filed August 30, 1990, at 11-12.
(d) If the court finds that no exigent circumstances existed, then the defendants are still protected by qualified good faith immunity doctrine. The defendants note that this is an affirmative defense that must be proved by them; however, they note that courts have granted summary judgment on this issue if the pleadings and affidavits indicate that there are no genuine issues of material fact. Id. at 12 ().
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Elder v. Holloway
...court found, the law was clearly established at the time of the incident. Because the plaintiff bears the burden of proof on the issue, 751 F.Supp. 858. we After receiving word that Charles Elder, who was wanted on Florida warrants and considered dangerous, was in town, officer R.D. Hollowa......
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US v. Gooch, CR-91-174-JLQ.
...in the case at bar. The third case cited by Gooch is the closest thing to a factually analogous case, but it too is distinguishable. In Holloway, a § 1983 civil rights case, the plaintiff alleged that his arrest was unconstitutional. There, the plaintiff was told by police, via telephone, t......
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Elder v. Holloway
...finding that it was justified by exigent circumstances. This court did not discuss Al-Azzawy in its previous decision, Elder v. Holloway, 751 F.Supp. 858 (D.Idaho 1990). Accordingly, the focus of this court on remand is whether Defendant R.D. Holloway is entitled to qualified immunity, desp......
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Elder v. Holloway
...court recognized, clear law would come into play: absent exigent circumstances, an arrest warrant would have been required. See 751 F. Supp. 858, 860 (Idaho 1990) (citing Payton v. New York, 445 U. S. 573 (1980)). If the same clear law Elder's arrest as it in fact transpired, the District C......