Smith v. Edwards, Docket No. 97-9226

• Decision Date: 24 March 1999
• Docket Number: Docket No. 97-9226
• Parties: John SMITH, 1 Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Albert EDWARDS and Town of Fairfield, Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 99

175 F.3d 99

John SMITH, ¹ Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Albert EDWARDS and Town of Fairfield, Defendants-Appellants.

Docket No. 97-9226.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued Jan. 15, 1999.

Decided March 24, 1999.

Charles W. Fleischmann, Sherwood, Garlick, Cowell, Diviney & Atwood, Westport, Connecticut, for Defendants-Appellants.

Frank W. Murphy, Tierney, Zullo, Flaherty & Murphy, P.C., Norwalk, Connecticut, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Before: JACOBS, LEVAL and SOTOMAYOR, Circuit Judges.

SOTOMAYOR, Circuit Judge:

On June 25, 1993, Officer Albert Edwards ("Edwards") of the Fairfield, Connecticut Police Department filed a probable cause affidavit with the Connecticut Superior Court seeking an arrest warrant based on his investigation of allegations that John Smith ("Smith") had sexually abused his daughter. A magistrate judge signed the warrant, and Edwards arrested Smith. The charges were subsequently dismissed and Smith filed suit alleging, among other things, that Edwards had withheld exculpatory information from the magistrate judge in order to secure the arrest warrant. Edwards and the Town of Fairfield (collectively "defendants") moved for summary judgement, with Edwards arguing that qualified immunity applied to shield him from liability. ² Defendants now appeal the decision of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (Squatrito, Judge ) denying their motion. We reverse the district court's order and remand for entry of judgment dismissing the complaint.

BACKGROUND

On February 16, 1993, Mary Smith reported to Edwards that her husband, Smith, had been sexually abusing their three-year old daughter, Jane, repeatedly over the course of the previous year. The next day, Edwards took a sworn, written statement from Mary Smith in which she explained that a recent conversation with her daughter had prompted her to complain to the police. Mary Smith claimed that Jane had told her that while Mary Smith had been attending social work classes, Smith had inappropriately touched her in the guestroom of their home. The child conveyed explicit details of the conduct, details which are not generally known to children of Jane's age. Mary Smith further detailed that for over one year, Jane had been suffering from medical ailments consistent with sexual abuse.

In addition to filing the police report, Mary Smith instituted divorce proceedings against Smith and applied ex parte to a Connecticut Superior Court for restraining orders to bar Smith from contacting her or her daughter. After temporary protective orders were issued, the Connecticut Superior Court, Judge Edgar Bassick, III presiding, held hearings on Mary Smith's application for permanent orders of protection. Mary Smith, Smith, Edwards and various personnel from the Yale-New Haven Child Abuse Clinic testified at the hearings, which took place on various dates between April 12 and June 11, 1993.

Approximately one month before the first hearing, Edwards received a copy of notes written by Dr. Sophia Leonida, a pediatrician who had examined Jane. Dr The second report, a "Social Work Evaluation Interim Report," was prepared by Cynthia Warshaw, M.S.W., on May 6, 1993 (the "Interim Report"). The report indicated that Warshaw had observed Jane on five different occasions and had interviewed Mary Smith alone. During her fourth session with Warshaw, Jane told the social worker that her father scared her and then proceeded to describe in graphic detail the various acts of abuse. When Warshaw asked Jane if her mother had told her what to say, Jane first answered affirmatively but then told Warshaw that her mother had told her to tell the truth. Warshaw ended her report by stating that she would provide final conclusions and recommendations after completing the evaluation, but that "until then this clinic is seriously concerned about the medical findings and the statements made by [the child]." Murphy had not interviewed Smith as of the time she issued the report, but she indicated that it was the "intention of the clinic to meet with Mr. [Smith] so that he can express his concerns and we can respond to his questions before completing the evaluation."

Leonida noted several reactions by Jane and physical manifestations that might be indicative, although not conclusive, of sexual abuse. Dr. Leonida's final assessment was "suspected sexual abuse (by history)," and she recommended that the child be scheduled for an examination at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Over the next several weeks, while the protective order hearings were ongoing, Edwards also received copies of two reports prepared by the Yale-New Haven Hospital concerning Jane. In the first report, a "Medical Report for Sexual Assault" prepared by Janet Murphy, R.N., P.N.P., Murphy found some "abnormal ... findings that are suspicious and consistent with a history of sexual abuse...." Murphy, however, also reported that some of the results of the medical "exam reveal[ed] normal findings that neither confirm nor refute" the child's claims of abuse.

After receiving the Interim Report, and while the protective orders were still in effect, Edwards called Smith's attorney, Reuben Midler, and attempted to arrange an interview with Smith. During the May 20, 1993 conversation, Edwards told Midler that he intended to apply for an arrest warrant for Smith based on the findings in the Interim Report. In response, and in a letter memorializing their conversation, Midler informed Edwards that Warshaw, Murphy and Mary Smith had been cross-examined concerning the Yale reports during the Superior Court hearings. Midler further explained that at the hearing, Warshaw characterized her Interim Report as "nothing but suspicions which do not even rise to the level of 'allegations' [and that] the report is incomplete and can be subject to change." Midler believed it "incomprehensible" that Edwards would procure an arrest warrant "without [first] obtaining transcripts of the court proceedings to date [since they] deal[ ] with the very allegations and witnesses underlying the arrest warrant application." Midler also suggested that Edwards speak with the child's attorney, John Howell, who could confirm Midler's characterizations of the testimony given at the hearings. Midler concluded during the conversation with Edwards that the police had already "made up [their] minds," and therefore refused to subject Smith to a police interview. Midler warned Edwards that his failure to advise the judge reviewing the warrant application of the Smiths' pending divorce action and of the exculpatory evidence adduced at those hearings would be "tantamount to a failure to provide the judicial authority with pertinent exculpatory information that seriously calls into question the truthfulness of the allegations made against [Smith]."

On June 11, 1993, at the close of the hearings, Judge Bassick ruled that Mary Smith was not entitled to a protective order and that Smith could return home. The judge provided no written order explaining the reasons for his decision. He After Judge Bassick rendered his decision, Mary Smith and her attorney contacted Edwards to request that Smith be arrested. On June 25, 1993, Edwards completed an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant for Smith. In the affidavit, Edwards outlined the sexual abuse allegations contained in the various reports described above. In addition, Edwards discussed at length his failed attempts to interview Smith and explained that Midler refused Edwards an interview because "the court case involving visitation rights was still on [going]...." Except for the implication conveyed by the reference to 'visitation rights,' Edwards did not mention the divorce action between the Smiths and the probable cause affidavit said nothing about the ultimate outcome of the Superior Court hearings.

                simply found that Mary Smith had failed to sustain her burden of proof in that "there has been insufficient evidence to justify the continuance of that restraining order."   The judge also stated that he did "not see, at least at this point in time, the materiality or relevancy of the finished Yale Sexual Abuse Clinic report, except upon the issue of custody."   Finally, the judge granted Smith's lawyer's request to seal the record of the proceedings
                

Before it was submitted to the Superior Court magistrate judge, the probable cause affidavit was reviewed and approved by Edwards's superior officers. Based on the affidavit, the magistrate judge issued a warrant and Smith was arrested at his home on June 25, 1993. Smith was charged with two counts of sexual assault in the first degree ³ and two counts of risk of injury to a minor. ⁴ A few hours later, Smith was released after posting bail. On or about February 17, 1995, the day before Smith's criminal trial was to commence, the prosecution served notice that it sought to withdraw the charges nolle prosequi because Jane had "shut down" and was no longer able to testify regarding the incidents of abuse. On March 30, 1995, the Superior Court dismissed the charges against Smith.

Smith thereafter brought suit in Connecticut state court against Edwards and Fairfield under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the United States and Connecticut Constitutions alleging, among other things, that he had been falsely arrested. Defendants removed the action to the United States District Court in the District of Connecticut. On May 23, 1997, defendants moved for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, with Edwards asserting a defense of qualified immunity. In opposition, plaintiff argued that Edwards's probable cause affidavit contained material omissions and misstatements, which, if included in the affidavit, would have rendered it insufficient to support a finding of probable cause. Plaintiff faulted Edwards for failing to disclose in his affidavit that (1) Jane's accounts of abuse were inconsistent; (2) Mary Smith...