Hallstrom v. CITY OF GARDEN CITY, ID.
| Decision Date | 03 May 1991 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 87-1360. |
| Citation | 811 F. Supp. 1443 |
| Parties | Sue HALLSTROM and Robert C. Hallstrom, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF GARDEN CITY, ID., et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Idaho |
Robert C. and Sue Hallstrom, pro se.
John L. King, Cantrill Skinner Sullivan & King, Boise, ID, for defendants City of Garden City, Randy W. Snapp, Sgt. Thurston.
James J. Davis, Eberle Berlin Kading Turnbow & McKlveen, Boise, ID, for defendants Sheriff Vaughn Killeen, Captain Mike Roberts, Ada County.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
This suit was brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by Mr. Robert C. Hallstrom and Mrs. Sue Hallstrom. In addition to challenging the constitutionality of Idaho Code § 18-705,1 which prohibits resisting, delaying and/or obstructing police officers, Mr. and Mrs. Hallstrom allege a number of civil rights violations stemming from the conduct of the named defendants which occurred during an arrest of Mr. Hallstrom on March 24, 1982, and an arrest of Mrs. Hallstrom on June 19, 1987. The facts surrounding both arrests are briefly stated as follows.
According to the Complaint, on March 24, 1982, Mr. Hallstrom was attending arraignments at Ada County Traffic Court. He was allegedly approached by a police officer for no apparent reason and was asked to identify himself. When he refused to do so, he was searched and ultimately arrested for violating Idaho Code § 18-705. Mr. Hallstrom was released on the same day as his arrest. On January 23, 1983, the charge against Robert Hallstrom was dismissed.
More than four years later, on a Friday morning, June 19, 1987, Mrs. Hallstrom was stopped while driving through Garden City, in Ada County, Idaho, by a Garden City Police Officer named Randy Snapp. The reason for the stop was that the car Hallstrom was driving had a burned-out taillight. Mrs. Hallstrom happened to have a spare taillight in her trunk, which she and the officer installed. In the course of the stop, Mrs. Hallstrom was asked to produce a driver's license and proof of liability insurance, which Idaho law requires drivers to carry. She did not produce a license, but instead stated that she believed she was not required to have a license by Idaho law and that requiring her to have a license violated her liberty to travel guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Mrs. Hallstrom was arrested, taken into custody, and driven to the Ada County Jail, where she was issued citations for the motor vehicle violations and charged with violating Idaho Code § 18-705.
While in custody, Mrs. Hallstrom refused to participate in the booking procedures, again stating that she was acting on the basis of her constitutional rights. Because she refused to submit to the booking procedures, Mrs. Hallstrom was also charged by Ada County with violating Idaho Code § 18-705. Throughout the time Mrs. Hallstrom refused to submit to booking procedures and was being held in custody, she demanded to be taken before a magistrate. Mrs. Hallstrom alleges that during this time she was unable to make any telephone calls. On the afternoon of Monday, June 22, 1987, Mrs. Hallstrom was taken before a magistrate, and on June 24, 1987, she was released from custody. All charges against Mrs. Hallstrom were eventually dropped.
Based upon their experiences, Mr. and Mrs. Hallstrom brought this action naming Garden City Police Officer Randy W. Snapp, Sergeant Thurston and the City of Garden City (hereinafter the Garden City Defendants); as well as the Sheriff of Ada County, Vaughn Killeen, Ada County Police Captain Mike Roberts, and Ada County (hereinafter the Ada County Defendants).2 The gist of the Complaint is that the Ada County Defendants' arrest of Mr. Hallstrom in 1982 was improper; that the Garden City Defendants' arrest of Mrs. Hallstrom in 1987 was also improper; that the statute prohibiting resisting, delaying, and/or obstructing is unconstitutional; and that the Ada County Defendants' jailing of Mrs. Hallstrom, based on her refusal to submit to booking procedures, was improper.
Mr. and Mrs. Hallstrom jointly pray for four different forms of declaratory relief: (1) for a declaratory judgment that Idaho Code § 18-705 is unconstitutional on its face as applied to the plaintiffs' conduct in this case; (2) for an injunction directing the Garden City Chief of Police to assure this court that any order entered is read and understood by every present and future law enforcement officer; (3) for an injunction concerning the time frame in which prisoners at the Ada County Jail are allowed phone calls; and (4) for permanent mandatory injunctions directing Garden City to expunge all records of Mrs. Hallstrom's arrest from the records of the Garden City Police Department, Ada County Jail, and any other state or federal agencies. Also, Mrs. Hallstrom, individually, prays for monetary relief, including the costs of the action as authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 1988; $60,000 from each defendant for the six days of her incarceration; $10,000 for each separate civil rights violation; and for punitive damages in the amount of $100,000 from each defendant.
On September 5, 1990, after some difficulties in scheduling, the court entertained oral argument on the Ada County Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment and the Garden City Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. The day before such motions came on for hearing, plaintiffs filed a cross-motion for summary judgment against the Ada County Defendants only. Finding that further oral argument would not aid the decision-making process, and finding that the plaintiffs' motion has been fully briefed, it too is ripe for consideration at this time.
Thus, having thoroughly considered all the arguments presented herein, based on the analysis to follow, this court finds that defendants' motions for summary judgment should be granted; plaintiffs' cross-motion should be denied; and this action should be dismissed.
Because of the distinctly different time frames involved, in analyzing the issues herein, Robert Hallstrom's claims shall be treated separately from those of Sue Hallstrom. Then, once the claims of each plaintiff are analyzed in relation to the named defendants, the court will turn to plaintiffs' challenge regarding the constitutionality of Idaho Code § 18-705.
In their motions for summary judgment, both the Garden City Defendants and the Ada County Defendants contend that Robert Hallstrom's claims are barred by the applicable Idaho statute of limitations.3 This court agrees.
In Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 275, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 1946, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985), the Supreme Court held that "the borrowing principle contained in § 1988 ... is fairly construed as a directive to select, in each State, the one most appropriate statute of limitations for all § 1983 claims." Later, the Supreme Court discussed its holding in Wilson and stated that "based upon the legislative history of § 1983 and the wide array of claims now embraced by that provision, that § 1983 `confers a general remedy for injuries to personal rights.'" Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235, 240, 109 S.Ct. 573, 576, 102 L.Ed.2d 594 (1989). And, the Court expressly acknowledged having previously held that, "because `§ 1983 claims are best characterized as personal injury actions' ... a State's personal injury statute of limitations should be applied to all § 1983 claims." Id. at 240-41, 109 S.Ct. at 577 (emphasis added).
Consistent with the holding in Wilson, actions brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in Idaho must meet the two-year statute of limitations for personal injury actions which is set forth in Idaho Code § 5-219(4). Henderson v. State, 110 Idaho 308, 715 P.2d 978, cert. denied, 477 U.S. 907, 106 S.Ct. 3282, 91 L.Ed.2d 571 (1986). Federal law dictates that the time of accrual of a civil rights claim is when plaintiff knows or has reason to know of the injury which is the basis for the action. Giving that standard a broad interpretation, based on the record, the latest date on which Robert Hallstrom could be considered to have known (or to have reason to have known) of his alleged civil rights violations was January 23, 1983, the date on which the charge against him was dropped.
Robert Hallstrom did not commence this action within two years of January 23, 1983, but instead waited almost four years, until December 22, 1987. Therefore, to the extent this action states claims by Mr. Hallstrom against the Garden City Defendants and the Ada County Defendants, such claims are barred by Idaho Code § 5219(4).4
Mrs. Hallstrom filed her claims against both defendants within two years of the events at issue. There is no statute of limitations problem with Mrs. Hallstrom's claims. Thus, the court turns to the merits.
In order to establish liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must prove two essential elements: (1) that the conduct complained of was committed by a person under color of state law, and (2) that the conduct resulted in a deprivation of rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or the laws of the United States. Parratt v. Taylor, 451 U.S. 527, 535, 101 S.Ct. 1908, 1912, 68 L.Ed.2d 420 (1981). In this case, the actions of the defendants were clearly taken under color of state law. However, in their motions for summary judgment, the defendants contend that Mrs. Hallstrom has failed to state a case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Thus, the critical question for this court to determine is whether or not Mrs. Hallstrom was deprived of any of her constitutional rights as a result of the conduct of the Garden City Defendants and/or the Ada County Defendants.
Mrs. Hallstrom's claims against each defendant shall be addressed in turn.
As previously noted, Mrs. Hallstrom was arrested in Garden City after...
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