Jones v. City Of Brunswick

• Decision Date: 26 March 2010
• Docket Number: Case No. 1:08-CV-1432.
• Parties: Christine Lynn JONES, Plaintiff,v.CITY OF BRUNSWICK, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio

704 F.Supp.2d 721

Christine Lynn JONES, Plaintiff,v.CITY OF BRUNSWICK, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 1:08-CV-1432.

United States District Court,

N.D. Ohio,

Eastern Division.

March 26, 2010.

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Daniel F. Maynard, Medina, OH, for Plaintiff.

Robert P. Lynch, Jr., Cleveland, OH, Kathleen M. Guarente, Independence, OH, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

KATHLEEN McDONALD O'MALLEY, District Judge.

Before the Court is Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 53), in which they argue that none of the Plaintiff's claims present disputed issues of fact for a jury. Plaintiff Christine Lynn Jones opposes this motion (Doc. 54) and the Defendants have filed a reply to her opposition (Doc. 57). ¹ For the following reasons, having fully considered the parties' briefs and attached exhibits, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 53) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.

I. BACKGROUND

This lawsuit arises under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Although the Plaintiff asserts a variety of constitutional violations, the factual basis underlying her complaint is straightforward. She contends that her constitutional rights were violated when two of the individually named defendants ordered her to remove her outer layer of clothing prior to taking her “booking photo” because she was wearing only underwear below that clothing. She also argues that she was denied the right to make a phone call while in custody.

With respect to this first claim, the Defendants do not challenge the Plaintiff's central version of events or asserted legal standard; they challenge whether the clothing in which she was photographed properly can be described as underwear. With respect to the second claim, the Defendants argue that video evidence shows that the Plaintiff was offered a phone call.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Defendants have moved for summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Under Rule 56(c), summary judgment should be granted “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

In reviewing summary judgment motions, this Court must view evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party to determine whether a genuine issue of material fact exists. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); CenTra, Inc. v. Estrin, 538 F.3d 402, 412 (6th Cir.2008). A fact is “material” only if its resolution will affect the outcome of the lawsuit. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Daugherty v. Sajar Plastics, Inc., 544 F.3d 696, 702 (6th Cir.2008). Determination of whether a factual issue is “genuine” requires consideration of the applicable evidentiary standards. Thus, in most civil cases, the Court will decide “whether reasonable jurors could find by a preponderance of the evidence that the [non-moving party] is entitled to a verdict.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

Upon filing a motion for summary judgment, the moving party has the initial burden of establishing that there are no genuine issues of material fact as to an essential element of the nonmoving party's claim. Moldowan v. City of Warren, 578 F.3d 351, 374 (6th Cir.2009) (citation omitted); Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472, 1479-80 & n. 12 (6th Cir.1989). The moving party, however, is not required to file affidavits or other similar materials negating a claim on which its opponent bears the burden of proof, so long as the moving party relies upon the absence of the essential element in the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

In response, if the moving party establishes the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, to defeat summary judgment, the non-moving party “may not rely merely on allegations or denials in its own pleading; rather, its response must-by affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule-set out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)(2); see also Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Alexander v. CareSource, 576 F.3d 551, 558 (6th Cir.2009) (citation omitted). In this regard, “Rule 56 does not impose upon the district court a duty to sift through the record in search of evidence to support a party's opposition to summary judgment”; rather, “Rule 56 allocates that duty to the opponent of the motion, who is required to point out the evidence, albeit evidence that is already in the record, that creates an issue of fact.” Williamson v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 481 F.3d 369, 379-80 (6th Cir.2007) (citation omitted); see also Tucker v. Tennessee, 539 F.3d 526, 531 (6th Cir.2008) (citation omitted). Moreover, the non-moving party must show more than a scintilla of evidence to overcome summary judgment; it is not enough for the nonmoving party to show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to material facts. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., 475 U.S. at 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348; see also Barr v. Lafon, 538 F.3d 554, 574 (6th Cir.2008).

Accordingly, the ultimate inquiry is whether the record, as a whole, and upon viewing it in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, could lead a rational trier of fact to find in favor of the non-moving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., 475 U.S. at 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348; see also Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (“The judge's inquiry, therefore, unavoidably asks whether reasonable jurors could find by a preponderance of the evidence that the [non-moving party] is entitled to a verdict-whether there is [evidence] upon which a jury can properly proceed to find a verdict for the party producing it, upon whom the onus of proof is imposed.” (emphasis in original) (internal quotations omitted)).

III. RELEVANT FACTS

The vast majority of the relevant facts are recorded on videotape ( see Doc. 54-2; Doc. 54-3), allowing the Court to view first-hand the events in question. There is, moreover, not really any dispute between the parties as to what happened; the parties only dispute how those events should be characterized. To the extent a rational trier of fact could agree with the Plaintiff's characterization of these facts, of course, the Court must adopt that characterization for purposes of this motion. This general rule is particularly appropriate here where, as discussed below, some of the Defendants' evidentiary submissions contradict not only each other, but also the video evidence.²

A. The Plaintiff's Arrest

On May 26, 2007, City of Brunswick Police Officer Jeffrey Jones (“Officer Jones”) observed the Plaintiff driving erratically and without headlights. (Doc. 53-1 at ¶¶ 4-5.) When he stopped the Plaintiff, he detected “a moderate odor of alcohol coming from [her] vehicle and [she] admitted she was drinking.” ( Id. at ¶ 7.) Officer Jones administered “standard field sobriety tests,” which the Plaintiff failed. ( Id. at ¶¶ 8-9.) At this point, Officer Jones “visually inspected her outer clothes,” and placed her into his vehicle. (Doc. 54-10 at 5:19-6:2.) He then transported the Plaintiff to the Brunswick Police Department (Doc. 53-1 ¶ 10), where she was charged with two misdemeanor offenses relating to driving under the influence of alcohol, and two traffic violations. (Doc. 53-2 at 6.)

The Plaintiff, for her part, admits that she was drunk when she was stopped by the police. (Doc. 53-10 at 23:2-9.)

B. The Search

1. The Procedure Employed During Booking

Once at the Brunswick Police Department, Officer Jones was joined by Officer Jeffrey Smith (“Officer Smith”), who assisted with booking procedures. (Doc. 54-9 at 5:4-6.) Officer Jones and Officer Smith collected some basic information from the Plaintiff and then asked her to provide a blood sample. ( Id. at 5:7-6:6.) ³ Throughout this process, the Plaintiff was wearing sweatpants and a fitted hooded-shirt made of light-weight material (a “hoodie”). (Doc. 54-1 at ¶ 8; Doc. 54-2.) ⁴ The Defendants do not claim that the Plaintiff was uncooperative, disrespectful, or threatening (i.e., they claim no need to search her out of particularized concern for their safety) and she does not appear to be any of these thing in the video-in fact, the video reveals that, prior to asking her to remove her hoodie, the officers appear to have left her alone, unhandcuffed, and unsupervised. ( See Doc. 54-2.)

After raising the camera to take the Plaintiff's booking photograph, Officer Smith asked the Plaintiff to remove her hoodie. (Doc. 54-1 at ¶ 8; Doc. 54-2.) Neither Officer Smith nor Officer Jones asked the Plaintiff what she was (or was not) wearing underneath (Doc. 54-1 at ¶ 13), and under her hoodie, in fact, the Plaintiff was wearing a lace-trimmed camisole and bra. (Doc. 54-1 at ¶ 5; Doc. 54-3.) She collectively considered this to be her underwear. (Doc. 54-1 at ¶¶ 11-12.) ⁵ The female officer who would later perform a pat-down search of the Plaintiff had not arrived at the time the Plaintiff was asked to remove her hoodie; that officer arrived immediately after. (Doc. 54-2.)

Officer Smith then took the Plaintiff's photograph from the middle of her torso. In this picture, the Plaintiff is wearing only her camisole and bra. (Doc. 54-9 at 6:7-24.) The record shows that at least some other young women have been photographed by the City of Brunswick in camisoles, whereas at least some men have been photographed wearing somewhat bulky outerwear despite having t-shirts under that outerwear. ( See Doc. 54-4) The Defendants do not dispute that booking photographs are part of the public record, available to any who request them.

Following the photograph, a female officer performed a pat-down search....