Willis v. City of Chicago, s. 91-2528

• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit
• Writing for the Court: Before POSNER and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges, and CRABB; RIPPLE
• Citation: Willis v. City of Chicago, 999 F.2d 284 (7th Cir. 1993)
• Decision Date: 23 September 1993
• Docket Number: Nos. 91-2528,92-1592,s. 91-2528
• Parties: Maceo G. WILLIS, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CITY OF CHICAGO, Defendant-Appellant.

Page 284

999 F.2d 284

Maceo G. WILLIS, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CITY OF CHICAGO, Defendant-Appellant.

Nos. 91-2528, 92-1592.

United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit.

Argued Nov. 10, 1992.

Decided July 30, 1993.

Rehearing and Suggestion for Rehearing En Banc Denied Sept.

23, 1993.

Robert O. Case, Walsh, Case, Coale & Brown, Jeffrey E. Schiller (argued), Michael F. Braun, Schuyler, Roche & Zwirner, Chicago, IL, for plaintiff-appellee.

Lawrence Rosenthal, Deputy Corp. Counsel (argued), Frederick S. Rhine and Kelly R. Welsh, Asst. Corp. Counsel, Benna R. Solomon, Office of Corp. Counsel, Appeals Div., Chicago, IL, for defendant-appellant.

Before POSNER and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges, and CRABB, Chief District Judge. ^*

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

Maceo Willis, Jr. was arrested on charges of sexual assault. Pursuant to Chicago Police Department policy, Mr. Willis was held for an extended period of time without a judicial determination of probable cause so that the police could investigate other crimes that they suspected Mr. Willis had committed. Mr. Willis brought this action against the City of Chicago. He alleged that his constitutional rights had been violated by the City's extended detention policy. The district court granted summary judgment to Mr. Willis and then determined that he was a "prevailing party" under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 and ordered the City to pay Mr. Willis' attorneys' fees. The City of Chicago now appeals from both determinations of the district court. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

I BACKGROUND

A. Facts

On the morning of February 11, 1985, Chicago police officers arrived at Mr. Willis' place of employment and met with Mr. Willis in the personnel office. Based on witness information and a computerized crime pattern analysis, the officers suspected him in connection with a series of aggravated sexual assaults. Although they did not have a warrant for Mr. Willis' arrest, the officers convinced him to return with them to Area 3 Violent Crimes Police Headquarters (Area 3). On the way to the police station, one of the officers advised Mr. Willis of his rights and, once they neared their destination, the officer placed Mr. Willis in handcuffs.

The officers and Mr. Willis reached Area 3 at approximately 11:00 a.m. and the officers began to question him regarding the assaults and to telephone victims to arrange for them to view him in a lineup. During this time, other police units were contacted, including Area 2 Violent Crimes Headquarters (Area 2), so that the police could determine whether Mr. Willis was a suspect in any other crimes. From approximately 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Mr. Willis participated in a series of lineups at Area 3. He was identified by numerous witnesses as having committed several acts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. Supported by these identifications, the Assistant State's Attorney approved filing charges against Mr. Willis. Meanwhile, police officers in Area 2 had determined that Mr. Willis fit the description of a perpetrator of a series of sexual assaults in that section of the city. At approximately 11:00 p.m., Mr. Willis was taken to the District 9 police station lockup. The processing of charges against him was completed at 4:15 a.m. on February 12, 1992, when the results of a fingerprint check were received by the station.

Because February 12 was Lincoln's Birthday, a special holiday court schedule was in effect. The felony court call for arrestees to appear in front of a neutral judicial officer was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. that morning. Although Mr. Willis had already been booked on the charges arising out of the Area 3 police investigation, he was not taken to that court call for a probable cause determination because he was considered a suspect in the additional Area 2 crimes. The police wished to conduct additional investigations into the Area 2 crimes.

In the early afternoon of that same day, Mr. Willis was transported to Area 2 for lineups relating to the assaults in which Area 2 police considered him a suspect. Because the police, however, were unable to find other men similar in appearance to Mr. Willis, the lineups were not conducted. A victim of one of the crimes was instead shown a photo array that included a picture of Mr. Willis; the victim was unable to make a positive identification. No arrest warrant was ever issued against Mr. Willis for any of the Area 2 crimes, and he was never charged with any of those crimes.

On February 13, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Mr. Willis was taken before a neutral judicial officer for a bail hearing. Bail was set at three hundred thousand dollars, which Mr. Willis was unable to post. Later that same day, he was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault.

At the time of Mr. Willis' arrest, the Chicago Police Department's general policy relating to the processing of arrestees was set forth in General Order 78-1. It was the Department's policy to bring arrestees to the first available court call after completion of processing. There were, however, established exceptions to this general rule. Paragraph C-2(a) stated that

[i]n the event Criminal Investigation Division personnel ascertain that there is a necessity for the detention of an arrestee for a period of time longer than that which might routinely be expected, in order that they may continue the investigation, a request for such detention will be made by the unit commanding officer or the area coordinator to the watch commander of the facility where the arrestee is detained.

R.90, Ex.26 at 9. The City acknowledges that Mr. Willis was held past the February 12 holiday court call pursuant to this extended detention policy so that Mr. Willis' possible involvement in the Area 2 crimes could be investigated.

B. District Court Proceedings

On December 10, 1986, Mr. Willis filed a complaint against the City and various police officers, alleging numerous constitutional violations and state law claims. Ultimately, however, Mr. Willis' suit consisted of two issues: (1) whether the City violated his Fourth Amendment ¹ rights by detaining him for an undue length of time pursuant to an extended detention policy and prior to receiving a judicial probable cause hearing and (2) whether two of the City's police officers had denied him food and the use of a bathroom during a twelve-hour period of his detention. ² Mr. Willis and the City filed motions for summary judgment on the extended detention issue and the district court granted summary judgment to Mr. Willis. Basing its decision on Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 95 S.Ct. 854, 43 L.Ed.2d 54 (1975), the court held that, on its face and as applied, the City's detention policy violated Mr. Willis' Fourth Amendment right to a prompt judicial determination of probable cause. Willis v. Bell, 726 F.Supp. 1118, 1124 (N.D.Ill.1989). The claim regarding the conditions of Mr. Willis' detention was then submitted to a jury.

On May 10, 1991, a jury found in favor of the defendant police officers regarding the conditions of detention. The jury also awarded nominal damages of one dollar (the minimum amount it could award) to Mr. Willis for the unconstitutional length of detention. Three days later, the Supreme Court decided County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 1661, 114 L.Ed.2d 49 (1991), in which the Court gave guidance for determining when a delay in receiving a Gerstein probable cause hearing is unconstitutional. The City filed a motion to vacate judgment based on the rationale in McLaughlin, but the district court concluded that the Supreme Court's decision did not support the extended detention policy and thus McLaughlin did not change the outcome of Mr. Willis' case.

Subsequently, Mr. Willis contended that he was a "prevailing party" as defined under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 for purposes of an award of attorneys' fees under that statute. While the City did not object to the calculation of the fees, it did object to their imposition. The court found Mr. Willis to be a prevailing party and, after independently reviewing the fees and noting that they had been discounted to take into account claims upon which Mr. Willis had not prevailed, the district court found Mr. Willis' requested figure to be reasonable. 784 F.Supp. 1360. On February 10, 1992, the court awarded $139,350.43 in attorneys' fees to Mr. Willis. The City now appeals both the district court's finding of unconstitutional detention and the award of attorneys' fees. This court has consolidated the City's appeals.

II ANALYSIS

A. The Constitutionality of Mr. Willis' Extended Detention

In Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 95 S.Ct. 854, 43 L.Ed.2d 54 (1975), the Supreme Court held that, following a warrantless arrest, the Fourth Amendment requires a prompt judicial determination of probable cause before an arrestee may be subjected to extended pretrial detention. This holding acknowledges that prolonged pretrial detention occasions serious interference with liberty rights. Id. at 114, 95 S.Ct. at 863. A judicial assessment of probable cause is thus necessary to guard against illegitimate interference with those rights. In County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, --- U.S. ----, ----, 111 S.Ct. 1661, 1668, 114 L.Ed.2d 49 (1991), the Court noted that Gerstein sought to balance the law enforcement interest in taking suspected criminals into custody, even when there has been no opportunity for a prior judicial determination of probable cause, against the possibility that detention founded upon an incorrect suspicion of wrongdoing may adversely affect the arrestee's job, income, and family relationships. Thus, Gerstein was a " 'practical compromise' between the rights of individuals and the rights of law enforcement." McLaughlin, --- U.S. at ----, 111 S.Ct. at 1668.

In McLaughlin, the Supreme Court defined the "promptness" requirement of Gerstein. The Court acknowledged that, because Gerstein allows the incorporation...