Lopez v. Youngblood, 1:07cv0474 DLB.
| Citation | 609 F.Supp.2d 1125 |
| Decision Date | 31 March 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:07cv0474 DLB.,1:07cv0474 DLB. |
| Parties | Marsial LOPEZ, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Donny YOUNGBLOOD, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. Eastern District of California |
Barrett S. Litt, Paul J. Estuar, Litt Estuar Harrison and Kitson, LLP, Donald W. Cook, Law Office of Robert Mann & Donald Cook, Los Angeles, CA, for Plaintiffs.
Jennifer Leigh Thurston, Office of the County Counsel, County of Kern, Bakersfield, CA, Terence John Cassidy, Porter Scott, APC, Sacramento, CA, for Defendants.
On July 17, 2008, Defendants County of Kern, the Kern County Sheriff's Office ("KCSO"), Donny Youngblood and Mack Wimbish ("Defendants") filed a joint motion for summary adjudication. On November 7, 2008, Defendants filed a second joint motion for summary adjudication regarding court returnees, qualified immunity and Eleventh Amendment immunity. On November 7, 2008, Plaintiffs Marsial Lopez, Sandra Chavez, and Theodore Medina filed their cross-motion for partial summary judgment and/or summary adjudication. All three motions were heard on December 19, 2008, before the Honorable Dennis L. Beck, United States Magistrate Judge.1 Barrett Litt and Donald Cook appeared on behalf of Plaintiffs. Jennifer Thurston and Terence Cassidy appeared on behalf of Defendants.
Plaintiff Marsial Lopez, individually and as class representative, filed the instant civil rights action on March 27, 2007. On June 21, 2007, Plaintiffs Marsial Lopez Sandra Chavez, and Theodore Medina, individually and as class representatives, filed a First Amended Complaint ("FAC") against Defendants. Plaintiffs seek injunctive relief and damages resulting from the strip and/or visual body cavity searches of prisoners by the Kern County Sheriff's Department.
The FAC pursues causes of action for violation of the Fourth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, violation of Article I, §§ 1, 7, 13 and 17 of the California Constitution and state law violations. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants maintained a policy of indiscriminately strip/body cavity searching all or a large number of persons being processed into the jail without limitation on the number of persons who can see, hear or observe the searches. Plaintiffs also allege that Defendants improperly strip searched detainees who had been ordered released.
On July 17, 2008, Defendants filed a joint motion for summary adjudication regarding group strip searches. Defendants contend that the group strip searches at issue do not violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. In addition, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs' equal protection claim state law claims fail as a matter of law.
Pursuant to a briefing schedule, Plaintiffs filed an opposition to the motion on September 16, 2008, along with a statement of disputed and undisputed facts and objections to the declaration of Ian Silva. On October 3, 2008, Defendants filed a reply and objections to the Declaration of Paul J. Estuar filed in support of Plaintiffs' motion.
On November 7, 2008, Defendants filed their second joint motion for summary adjudication regarding court returnees, qualified immunity and Eleventh Amendment immunity. Defendants contend that (1) the searches of certain Plaintiffs who assert that their constitutional rights were violated when they were subjected to strip searches after returning to the jail following a court appearance in which they were ordered released were reasonable; (2) Defendants Yougblood and Wimbish are immune from liability because the law was not clearly established that searching post-arraignment detainees in small groups violates Plaintiffs' rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments and violates the Equal Protection Clause; (3) the Sheriff is a state actor and immune from a § 1983 suit; and (4) the County should be dismissed from this action.
Plaintiffs filed an opposition to Defendants' second motion on November 21, 2008, along with a statement of disputed and undisputed facts and the Declaration of Barrett S. Litt and Donald W. Cook. Defendants filed a reply and objections to Plaintiffs' statement of facts on December 5, 2008.
On November 7, 2008, Plaintiffs also filed their cross-motion for partial summary judgment and/or summary adjudication. Plaintiffs seek a determination that (1) KCSO's policy of strip searching persons ordered released from custody violated the Fourth Amendment; (2) KCSO's policy of group strip searching prisoners violated the Fourth Amendment; (3) the strip search policies violated Plaintiffs' state constitutional rights pursuant to Cal. Const. Art. I, § 1 (privacy), Cal. Const. Art. I, § 13 (unreasonable searches) and Cal. Const. Art. I, § 7 (equal protection); and (4) the entity defendants are liable under federal and state law.
Defendants filed an opposition to Plaintiffs' cross-motion for summary adjudication on November 21, 2008, along with a statement of undisputed facts and objections to the declaration of Donald W. Cook. Plaintiffs filed a reply on December 6, 2008.
Defendant KCSO operates four different jail facilities. These facilities include Central Receiving Facility ("CRF"), Ridgecrest, Mojave, and Lerdo. The main function of the CRF facility is booking and receiving arrestees coming straight off the street. Since at least 2003, pre-arraignment misdemeanor arrestees at CRF were not subject to strip searches on a routine basis, either before or after their first court appearance.
If not released from CRF, arrestees are transported to the Kern County Superior Court ("Superior Court") for their initial court appearance. After their initial court appearance, arrestees are transported back to CRF for either (a) housing in the Lerdo jail if remanded to custody or (b) to be released from custody at CRF. Postarraignment prisoners, including those serving sentences, are housed at Lerdo. Lerdo is divided into four different divisions: pretrial, maximum-medium ("maxmed"), female minimum and male minimum.
Procedure D of KCSO Policy C-500 specifies that persons in the general inmate population (not pre-arraignment detainees):
may be subjected to a strip search or visual body cavity search in the following situations:
• After an inmate has left the facility and returned (i.e., medical appointment, court, etc.)
• After an inmate laborer has completed their assigned duties inside or outside the facility and is returning to their housing area.
• After any contact visit.
• If an officer has a reasonable suspicion that an inmate is concealing a weapon or contraband and that a strip search or visual body cavity search will result in discovery of the weapon or contraband.
KCSO, Detentions Bureau Policies and Procedures, Search Procedures C-500, p. 5; Exhibit E to the Declaration of Terrence Cassidy.
Per KCSO Search Procedure, a strip search involves a "visual inspection of the underclothing, female breasts, buttocks, or genitalia of such person." KCSO, Detentions Bureau Policies and Procedures, Search Procedures C-500, p. 2. A strip search includes a visual body cavity search. A visual body cavity search includes a "visual inspection of the anus and/or vaginal area; generally requiring the subject to bend over and spread the cheeks of the buttocks, to squat, and/or otherwise expose body cavity orifices." Id. From 2003 to present, the manner of strip searching prisoners has not changed.
From January 2005 to October 2007, the Kern County Sheriffs Department conducted a strip/visual body cavity ("strip/ vbc") of all inmates who were moved from Lerdo to court and back. Upon arrival at Lerdo, prisoners were routinely subjected to a strip/visual body cavity search without regard to the reasonable suspicion standard. This search policy included both prisoners housed for the first time at Lerdo following an initial court appearance and prisoners who were previously housed at Lerdo but who had been ordered released following a court appearance.
Prior to October 2007, all such strip/visual body cavity searches were group searches conducted in view of other inmates. Each prisoner could observe the searches of other prisoners in the group. There were no partitions or other barriers to prevent such observation.
In October 2007, Defendants stopped "group strip searches," adopting an updated policy. KCSO, Detentions Bureau Policies and Procedures, Strip and Body Cavity Searches C-550, p. 2; Exhibit 1 to Declaration of Paul Estuar in Support of Plaintiffs' Opposition to Motion for Summary Adjudication. Defendants now employ privacy partitions or booths when conducting strip searches at Lerdo facilities.
From about July 2005 to November 2006, Plaintiff Marsial Lopez was a prisoner in the Kern County Jail, awaiting trial and resolution of criminal charges filed against him. Between July 2005 and November 2006, Plaintiff Lopez made numerous appearances in Superior Court regarding pending criminal charges. After each appearance, he was returned to Lerdo. Upon his arrival at Lerdo, Plaintiff Lopez was subjected to a strip/vbc search. On November 6, 2006, Plaintiff Lopez appeared in Superior Court. At that time, the court dismissed all charges against him and ordered his release. Plaintiff Lopez returned to Lerdo and was subjected to a strip/vbc search.
On February 17, 2007, KCSO deputies arrested Plaintiff Sandra Chavez. She was housed at CRF where she was subjected to a strip/vbc search
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