Colbruno v. Kessler
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff Christopher Colbruno was in jail awaiting trial when he needed to be taken to the hospital for an urgent medical condition. Six deputies in the Denver Sheriff's Department (Defendants) walked him through the public areas of the hospital completely unclothed except for an orange pair of mittens. Complaining that the deputies violated his constitutional rights, he sued them, among others, under
I. BACKGROUND
Although the district court characterized its decision (which addressed a variety of issues in addition to qualified immunity)
*1160as resolving motions for summary judgment, it is apparent from the record that the court resolved Defendants' qualified-immunity motion solely on the basis of allegations made in Plaintiff's complaint. We therefore consider this to be an appeal from the denial of a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). On review we accept the factual allegations of the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. See Doe v. Woodard ,
Plaintiff's complaint alleges the following: On May 4, 2015, he was a pretrial detainee in the custody of the Denver Sheriff's Department at the Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center. During an apparent psychotic episode, he swallowed metal components of an emergency call box in his jail cell. After jail officials learned of this at about 10:00 p.m., they contacted a physician at the Denver Health Medical Center and were told that he should be brought to the hospital for x rays and treatment within one hour. At 12:20 a.m., three of the Defendants removed him from his cell and placed him in a van to go to the hospital. On the way there, Plaintiff urinated and defecated on the smock he was wearing. The three transporting Defendants were met at the hospital by the other three Defendants. Defendants removed the smock and walked Plaintiff into the hospital without any clothes on except a pair of orange mittens, passing through the ambulance bay, entrance, atrium, and hallways before chaining him to a bed. Hospital staff witnessed this conduct and reported it to the hospital risk manager because they found it disturbing.
II. DISCUSSION
Defendants
"In resolving a motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity, the court considers (1) whether the facts that [Plaintiff] has alleged make out a violation of a constitutional right, and (2) whether the right at issue was clearly established at the time of [Defendants'] alleged misconduct." Keith v. Koerner ,
*1161District of Columbia v. Wesby , --- U.S. ----,
A. Mistreatment of Detainees
Plaintiff asserts that Defendants' treatment of him violated the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable seizures and the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. To resolve what constitutional provision governs this case, we need to review the proper scope of the potentially applicable provisions. First, however, we should explain our nomenclature, because almost any federal constitutional claim against state officials is, strictly speaking, a claim under the Fourteenth Amendment. Although the provisions of the Bill of Rights are directed only to the federal government, see Barron v. City of Baltimore , 32 U.S. (7 Pet.) 243, 247,
The essence of Plaintiff's claim is that he was mistreated while in state custody. Alleged mistreatment of this type may be challenged under the Fourth Amendment, Eighth Amendment, or Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const. amend. IV. Even one who has been properly searched or seized by police authorities (say, arrested on probable cause), can claim that the search or seizure was unreasonable because of unreasonable treatment by officers in effecting the search or seizure. Typically, the mistreatment has been the use of excessive force; but "the interests protected by the Fourth Amendment are not confined to the right to be secure against physical harm; they include liberty, property and privacy interests-a person's *1162sense of security and individual dignity." Holland ex rel. Overdorff v. Harrington ,
The Eighth Amendment prohibits the infliction of "cruel and unusual punishments." U.S. Const. amend. VIII. It applies to those who have been convicted of crime, so they usually cannot complain of confinement itself. But see Hawkins v. Hargett ,
For those in pretrial confinement, such as Plaintiff, claims regarding mistreatment while in custody generally do not come within the protection of the Fourth Amendment or the Eighth Amendment. As explained in Porro v. Barnes ,
Although the full scope of protection provided by the Due Process Clauses to pretrial detainees may be to some extent uncertain, the Supreme Court has been categorical in one respect: "[A] detainee may not be punished prior to an adjudication of guilt in accordance with due process of law." Bell v. Wolfish ,
We applied those principles to a claim of excessive force in Blackmon v. Sutton ,
Bell and Blackmon are not entirely clear about whether a pretrial detainee could sustain a due-process claim for mistreatment without showing that the custodians intended their actions as punishment. Both opinions could be read as requiring an intent to punish the pretrial detainee although allowing such intent to be inferred from the absence of a legitimate purpose behind the offensive conduct. See Kingsley v. Hendrickson , --- U.S. ----,
B. Public Exposure of Nude Body of Detainee
In our view, any reasonable adult in our society would understand that the involuntary exposure of an adult's nude body is a significant imposition on the victim. And law-enforcement officers in this circuit have been taught this lesson repeatedly. In Shroff v. Spellman ,
Similarly, in Hill v. Bogans ,
We have recognized the significance of such an imposition even on prisoners after they have been convicted and are serving time in prison. In Farmer v. Perrill ,
All we need to take from these cases is a conclusion that was obvious without them: exposing a person's naked body involuntarily is a severe invasion of personal privacy. The conclusion that Defendants' alleged conduct constituted a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment readily follows. The only issue is whether the exposure of Plaintiff's body was "not rationally related to a legitimate governmental objective or [was] excessive in relation to that purpose." Kingsley ,
Defendants argue that Plaintiff needed medical treatment urgently, and that finding another covering for him before transporting him through the hospital would have taken too much additional time and effort. But Plaintiff has alleged facts supporting the reasonable inference that no vital urgency justified Defendants' actions.
*1165His complaint states that Defendants took more than two hours to transport him to the hospital. It also alleges that at the end of his walk through the hospital he was chained to a hospital bed, not immediately x-rayed or provided with treatment. The district court ruled that these allegations were sufficient to support the inference that Plaintiff's condition was not so urgent that Defendants could not have delayed walking him into the hospital for "[t]he additional moment that would have been required to locate and place a smock" on him. District Court Order at 17. We agree with the district court. It is common sense that acquiring some replacement clothing at a hospital would be at most a matter of minutes, and we can reasonably infer from the long delay in transporting Plaintiff that Defendants' actions were not based on a medical need so pressing that they could not spare a little time to obtain a dignified covering.
C. Qualified Immunity
There remains the question whether Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity. Was the law clearly established that their conduct (as alleged by Plaintiff) violated the Fourteenth Amendment? Ordinarily the answer is no unless there is precedent of the Supreme Court or of this court declaring that there would be a violation under closely similar facts. Fortunately, however, not every constitutional violation has factual antecedents. We can occasionally rely on the general proposition that it would be "clear to a reasonable officer that his conduct was unlawful in the situation he confronted ... even though existing precedent does not address similar circumstances." Wesby ,
The Fourteenth Amendment is violated if a pretrial detainee is subjected to "a restriction or condition ... not reasonably related to a legitimate goal." Bell ,
On one possible aspect of Plaintiff's claim, however, we do not think Defendants' actions were governed by clearly established law. To the extent that Plaintiff claims that his constitutional rights were violated by being chained in the hospital bed to which he was taken, we dismiss the claim as barred by qualified immunity. Given Plaintiff's status as one facing criminal charges, and the apparent risk he posed to himself, there was certainly a legitimate purpose for the constraints. Also, his nude body was presumably then exposed only to his hospital caregivers, who could best determine what, if any, garb or covering was appropriate for his treatment and care. Given the much more limited nature of Plaintiff's exposure, the legitimate reasons for the restraint, and the change in caretaker upon Plaintiff's delivery to the room, it is not obvious that Defendants denied him due process in the manner that they left him in the hospital bed.
III. CONCLUSION
We AFFIRM the denial of qualified immunity except to the extent that Plaintiff's claim is based on his treatment after being taken to his hospital room.
Section 1983 provides in relevant part: "Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress."
"Individual liability under § 1983 must be based on personal involvement in the alleged constitutional violation," so "we must examine the allegations in the complaint as to each individual appellant to determine whether a plausible claim for relief is stated." Wilson v. Montano ,
The dissent argues that the proper approach to Fourteenth Amendment claims against executive action would be to determine whether the action shocks the conscience. Kingsley , however, is to the contrary for claims relating to the treatment of pretrial detainees.
Dissenting Opinion
This case presents a classic variation on the theme that "bad facts make bad law." The experiences alleged by Mr. Colbruno, if inflicted with malice, would trouble anyone. If, on the other hand, deputies sought only to make the best of a bad situation in obtaining emergency medical care for him, few would be alarmed.
In my view, Mr. Colbruno has not adequately alleged malicious conduct. Applying the appropriate legal framework under the Fourteenth Amendment, the deputies should therefore be entitled to qualified immunity. As the majority explains, Mr. Colbruno must allege some violation of a clearly established constitutional right. But the complaint fails to allege facts sufficient to state a claim for substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, let alone one that was clearly established at the time of the events in question.
I begin by reiterating the appropriate legal framework for a complaint like this one, which alleges official misconduct. I then contrast this approach with the framework adopted by the majority. Ultimately, I conclude that-when either standard is faithfully applied-Mr. Colbruno has failed to allege a violation that was clearly established.
A. Fourteenth Amendment Violation
The majority is correct in concluding these allegations are best analyzed under the Fourteenth Amendment's provision for due process. But I believe the majority has applied the wrong due-process framework.
*11671. The Appropriate Framework
The Supreme Court has read the Fourteenth Amendment to authorize challenges to abusive or arbitrary governmental conduct through claims of substantive due process . E.g., Cty. Of Sacramento v. Lewis ,
These allegations do not involve legislative action, so they must be evaluated under the cases that consider official conduct. See Lewis ,
Conduct "shocks the conscience" when it demonstrates such "a degree of outrageousness and a magnitude of potential or actual harm" that it "shocks the conscience of federal judges." Uhlrig v. Harder ,
This standard is exacting, in large part because the complete universe of state-law torts might otherwise then be distorted into constitutional violations of due process. Dawson v. Bd. of Cty. Commr's of Jefferson Cty. ,
This complaint cannot clear such a high standard. Mr. Colbruno alleges the deputies moved him from the ambulance bay to his hospital room without clothing or otherwise covering his body. This contention supports an inference of indifference or callousness, but no more. Mr. Colbruno does not allege any intent to humiliate or punish lay behind this decision. Nor does he contend the deputies prolonged his exposure to potential onlookers, either through needless delay or circuitous travel through the hospital. Nor, lastly, does he allege that anyone beyond hospital personnel witnessed any of these events. All of *1168which presumably transpired within seconds.
In short, as the complaint now stands, we know the deputies were responding to a medical emergency; we know Mr. Colbruno-after ingesting metal objects in the midst of a psychotic episode-had soiled himself while in transit from pretrial detention to the hospital; and we know the deputies decided to rush him into the emergency room, unclothed. We do not know why they made the decisions they did; we do not know whether a suitable gown was readily available; and we do not know whether time was really of the essence. Perhaps further investigation prior to filing this lawsuit would have shed light upon some of these missing facts. Taken together, the answers to the questions could very well allow for a permissible inference of conscience-shocking conduct.
But in the absence of such additional factual context, I would conclude the complaint fails to allege the requisite inference of malice that is necessary to conclude the deputies might have engaged in conduct that shocks the conscience. In sum, Mr. Colbruno has not adequately alleged a violation of his constitutional rights to substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.
2. The Majority Framework
Given the limitations of the complaint, the majority acknowledges difficulty in identifying which constitutional provision should entitle Mr. Colbruno to relief. He alleged violations of both his Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable searches and his Fourteenth Amendment right to bodily integrity. The district court, in turn, accepted the Fourth Amendment rationale and did not conduct an independent analysis of the Fourteenth Amendment claim. But because Mr. Colbruno was neither searched nor seized in any conventional sense, it is obvious-as explained above-that any relief must stem from the Fourteenth Amendment's protections against official misconduct; and not the Fourth Amendment's familiar assurances against unreasonable search or seizure.
The majority understandably turns to a line of cases involving the rights of pre-trial detainees. Relying upon Bell v. Wolfish ,
The majority also points to a case not briefed by either party to apply the principles outlined in Bell . Relying on Blackmon v. Sutton ,
But a close reading of Blackmon offers little support for the majority's application here. The Blackmon panel concluded the plaintiff's allegations were so egregious that they would have cleared the more demanding hurdle of stating an Eighth Amendment violation. It therefore followed necessarily that the plaintiff had made out a violation of his substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, since "a pretrial detainee enjoys at least the same constitutional protections as a convicted criminal." Id . at 1241-42, 1242-43. In other words, the circumstances alleged by the plaintiff proved so egregious that the test from Bell was beside the point.
It bears mentioning, as well, that Blackmon arose during a period of uncertainty surrounding the propriety of applying the shocks-the-conscience standard as the sole test for official misconduct. See Dias v. City and Cty. of Denver ,
But even if Blackmon represented a correct and straightforward application of Bell , there exist myriad factual differences between the circumstances detailed in Blackmon and the allegations in this case. In Blackmon , for instance, the plaintiff's lawsuit arose specifically from the conditions of his confinement. Here, by contrast, Mr. Colbruno never alleges his treatment arose as a condition of his confinement. And whereas Blackmon entailed repeated and systematic punishment within the confines of a detention facility, Mr. Colbruno details what would be a single constitutional violation separate and apart from the place of his confinement.
Finally-perhaps because Blackmon offers so few analogous facts-the majority turns to several Fourth Amendment strip-search cases. It asserts "the conclusion [that deputies'] alleged conduct constituted a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment readily follows" from these cases. Maj. Op. 1164. But violations of the Fourth Amendment are evaluated only for reasonableness. See, e.g., Lewis ,
B. Clearly Established Violation
No matter how we analyze his claims, Mr. Colbruno has failed to allege the violation of a clearly established constitutional *1170right. The Supreme Court has explained that "[a] clearly established right is one that is sufficiently clear that every reasonable official would have understood that what he is doing violates that right." E.g., Mullenix v. Luna , --- U.S. ----,
Although we need not "require a case directly on point," it is nonetheless the case that "existing precedent must have placed the statutory or constitutional question beyond debate." Id . (citations and quotation marks omitted). This is because qualified immunity is meant to "protect[ ] all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law." Id . (citations and quotation marks omitted). The Supreme Court has "repeatedly told courts ... not to define clearly established law at a high level of generality." Id . (citations and quotation marks omitted). And the Court has likewise emphasized "[t]he dispositive question is whether the violative nature of particular conduct is clearly established." Id . (citations and quotation marks omitted) (emphasis in original). Such an inquiry "must be undertaken in light of the specific context of the case, not as a broad general proposition." Id . (citations and quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added). The Court has also observed that-in the related Fourth Amendment context-"specificity is especially important," as "it is sometimes difficult ... to determine how the relevant legal doctrine ... will apply to the factual situation the officer confronts." Id . (citations and quotation marks omitted).
The violation proposed by the majority-of a right to be free from "a restriction or condition ... not reasonably related to a legitimate goal" Maj. Op. 1165-is far too broad. While I am certainly sympathetic to the privacy interests asserted by Mr. Colbruno, no precedential case has clearly established a constitutional violation at the appropriate level of specificity under the facts alleged here.
To avoid this conclusion, the majority asserts the deputies' violation of Mr. Colbruno's rights was so obvious that we need not point to a closely aligned case. It is, of course, correct that some "constitutional violation[s] may be so obvious that similar conduct seldom arises in our cases," such that "it would be remarkable if the most obviously unconstitutional conduct should be the most immune from liability only because it is so flagrantly unlawful that few dare attempt." Lowe v. Raemisch ,
In its effort to clear this hurdle, the majority again looks to Blackmon . But the circumstances depicted there could not credibly alert the deputies of misconduct, absent some punitive intent. Whereas punishment sat at the center of the dispute in Blackmon , Mr. Colbruno has not alleged facts that would suggest the deputies intended to punish him; or, for that matter, any other state of mind that would meet the constitutional standard for egregiousness. And whereas at least one official in Blackmon engaged in repeated, systematic, and gratuitous misconduct, Mr. Colbruno details what would be-at most-a single discrete incident that lasted only for a matter of moments.
In sum, absent plausible allegations of intentional and abusive misconduct, clearly-established law could not have alerted the deputies they were violating Mr. Colbruno's right to substantive due process. As troubling as these allegations-if true-would be, the complaint fails to tie *1171the invasion of Mr. Colbruno's privacy to the constitutional requirement for intent.
See Nathan S. Chapman & Michael W. McConnell, Due Process as Separation of Powers ,
Mr. Colbruno was likewise obligated to plead specific facts that plausibly allege a constitutional violation as to each defendant . See, e.g., Ashcroft v. Iqbal ,
Because Kingsley was decided after the events alleged in the complaint, Bell remains the applicable Supreme Court precedent. Kingsley likewise addressed the state-of-mind requirement for an excessive-force claim brought under the Fourteenth Amendment. Because the complaint does not allege excessive force, the relevance of Kingsley -beyond its restatement of the general principles articulated in Bell -is not obvious.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Christopher COLBRUNO, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. William KESSLER, in His Official and Individual Capacity; Samantha Kielar, in Her Official and Individual Capacity; Tina Klosiewski, in Her Official and Individual Capacity; Ryan Sewitsky, in His Individual and Official Capacity; Thomas Tindall, in His Individual and Official Capacity; Stephen Petit, in His Individual and Official Capacity, Defendants - Appellants, and City and County of Denver, a Municipality; Elias Diggins, Defendants.
- Cited By
- 108 cases
- Status
- Published