Stokes v. Bd. Of Educ. Of The

• Decision Date: 19 March 2010
• Docket Number: No. 09-1180.,09-1180.
• Parties: Carnelita STOKES and Nyokia Stokes, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO, a municipal corporation, and Johnny Banks, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

599 F.3d 617

Carnelita STOKES and Nyokia Stokes, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO, a municipal corporation, and Johnny Banks, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 09-1180.

United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit.

Argued: Dec. 10, 2009.

Decided: March 19, 2010.

Rehearing Denied: April 30, 2010.

Ruth F. Masters (argued), Oak Park IL, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Debra A. Harvey, Lee A. Lowder (argued), James J. Seaberry, Jr., Chicago Board of Education Law Department, Chicago, IL, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before POSNER, MANION, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

HAMILTON, Circuit Judge.

On January 23, 2007, Principal Johnny Banks encountered what looked like a fight among several adult women in the office of his Chicago elementary school. At Principal Banks' request, the police arrested four women. After criminal charges were dropped, two of the women sued Principal Banks and the Board of Education of the City of Chicago. Plaintiffs Nyokia and Carnelita Stokes are the mother and grandmother, respectively, of four children who attended the school at the time of the incident. The Stokes brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that Banks violated their Fourth Amendment rights by swearing to false complaints of disorderly conduct and causing false arrests. Plaintiffs added statelaw claims for false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants on all claims. Plaintiffs appealed, and we affirm.

I. The Facts for Purposes of Summary Judgment

We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, construing all facts and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving parties. Casna v. City of Loves Park, 574 F.3d 420 424 (7th Cir.2009). We will affirm a grant of summary judgment if the evidence establishes that there are no genuine issues of material fact, leaving the moving parties entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v Catrett, All U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

Many factual details are disputed in this case, but a factual dispute is material only if its resolution might change the suit's outcome under the governing law. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A factual issue is genuine only if there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict in favor of the non-moving party on the evidence presented. See id. In deciding a motion for summary judgment, neither the district court nor this court may assess the credibility of witnesses, choose between competing reasonable inferences, or balance the relative weight of conflicting evidence. The courts must view all the evidence in the record in the light reasonably most favorable to the nonmoving parties. See id. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct, 2505.

We state the facts in light of the standard for summary judgment and without vouching for the objective truth of this account, especially as it might reflect on those who are not parties to this case. In the weeks before the fight, Nyokia Stokes' third-grade daughter experienced conflict with another girl in her class. The conflict escalated to the parents. The night before the incident that resulted in arrests, the other girl's mother (Ebony Scott) and a male companion went to Nyokia's home and threatened her. The police were called, but they deferred to school authorities. The next morning, January 23, 2007 Nyokia and Carnelita met with the police and Principal Banks at the school. Banks said that he would set up a meeting between the Stokes and Scott.

Around 2:30 p.m. that day, Nyokia and Carnelita returned to the school to pick up Nyokia's daughter in kindergarten and to check on the status of the proposed meeting with Scott. They waited in the school office, which is where kindergarten chil-dren are picked up and which is adjacent to Principal Banks' office. While they were waiting, Scott entered with a female companion identified only as "Scott's cousin Pony." Scott approached Nyokia aggressively and yelled at her for telling Principal Banks about the events of the previous night. Nyokia responded by saying only, "that's not why we're here." Scott and Pony then set upon Nyokia, grabbing her hair and tearing out her artificial braids, causing her to bleed and suffer significant pain and distress. By the time the attack ended, Scott and Pony had pulled approximately eight braids (and the natural hair to which they were attached) from Nyokia's scalp. Nyokia estimated that the attack lasted 20 minutes, though that seems highly improbable under the circumstances. By all later accounts of witnesses, Scott and Pony were the aggressors, and neither Nyokia nor Carnelita retaliated verbally or physically. Carnelita called 911 to summon the police, apparently as the altercation was ending.

During the attack, approximately 30 kindergartners were dismissed from school and entered the office together. They became extremely agitated by the scene they encountered and began to yell. Nyokia testified that they were "hollering for 20 minutes" until Principal Banks arrived. One student was knocked over as a result of the adults' assault.

Principal Banks arrived in the office either as the fight was breaking up or immediately after it had broken up. Nyokia testified that he entered the office "at the last minute" when "everything was over with." Carnelita testified that up until the moment that Banks entered the office, Scott was on the floor with her hands gripping Nyokia's hair. Nyokia was still upright, and Scott was attempting to pull her to the floor with her. It is unclear exactly how Pony was positioned, but her hands were also in Nyokia's hair. Nyokia was using her hands to try to remove her attackers' hands from her hair. Carnelita further testified that when Principal Banks approached, Scott and Pony let go of Nyokia's hair and backed away.

Nyokia described a noisy, chaotic scene in the office, crowded with adults and children even after her attackers were disentangled from her. Banks testified that he entered the school office from his adjoining office, while others testified that he entered the school office via the hallway. Upon entering, Banks instructed Scott and Pony to go into his office, and he told the Stokes to go to another room down the hall. Carnelita and Nyokia Stokes eventually did so, accompanied by teacher Mylea Fossett.

Fossett and Banks testified that at this stage, Principal Banks was attempting to assess the situation but had difficulty doing so because Carnelita refused to leave the office and yelled at Banks for an extended period of time. Fossett testified that Carnelita remained near Banks and continued yelling while Banks was trying to keep the parties separate and was trying to ask certain individuals, including Nyokia, about the circumstances of the attack. Fossett further testified that Carnelita yelled at Banks when he came to talk to the Stokes while they waited for him in a room down the hall. Both Fossett and Banks testified that Carnelita's behavior interfered with Banks' ability to keep the parties separate and to regain control of the school.

Carnelita's testimony disputes this account, but only to a limited extent. She contends that she said nothing at all to Banks until he came to see them in the nearby room. She did not testify about and has not disputed the defendants' evidence that she was yelling in the moments immediately following the attack, that shedid not immediately comply with Banks' request that she go with Nyokia to the room down the hall, and that she was yelling at Banks once he entered that room.

Fossett and the Stokes waited together for Banks in the nearby room. Banks entered with police officers and told them to arrest both Nyokia and Carnelita. According to the Stokes' testimony, the following exchange occurred: The police asked Banks why he wanted them arrested. Banks responded: "First of all, I want her [Carnelita] arrested." When Carnelita asked why, Banks replied: "Because you're not supposed to be here." Nothing in the record indicates that Carnelita had been denied permission to be at the school. Nyokia pleaded with Banks not to have her mother arrested, saying that Carnelita had nothing to do with the altercation. Nyokia told Banks: "Don't lock her up. Take me to jail. Because she's sick, my mom is sick." Banks responded: "I'm going to have to lock both of you up." The police again asked Banks if he was sure about his decision. His reply was affirmative.

Banks and the officers then left the room to complete paperwork. Banks swore out criminal complaints with the police against Ebony Scott, "Pony, " and both of the Stokes. The complaint against Carnelita stated that she "did knowingly and intentionally fight with another person, use loud profane language causing a crowd to gather in such an unreasonable manner as to alarm and disturb the calm of the school and provoke a breach of the peace." The complaint against Nyokia stated that she "did knowingly and intentionally fight with another person and refused to stop [and] used loud profane language causing a crowd of students to gather thereby disturbing the calm of the School thereby provoking a breach of the peace." While it is undisputed that Banks tried to ascertain more information about the incident before he signed the complaints, the court must assume that Banks did not attempt to determine which parties were the aggressors.

Nyokia and Carnelita were escorted into the hallway, where they were arrested and handcuffed within sight of Nyokia's children. Before the police took them away janitor Michael Bell spoke with Banks and told him that he did not think Nyokia or Carnelita should be arrested. Banks responded, "they can't do this on school property." The Stokes were released late that night, at about...