Jose Doe v. Dave Goodman
Opinion of the Court
Jose Doe filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against law enforcement officials following the execution of two search warrants. The district court
While investigating the internet transfer of child pornography, Special Agent Jesse Smith of the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations downloaded images of child pornography from a computer with an Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to a residential address in Minot, North Dakota. Smith applied for a search warrant, attesting that, based on his experience in child pornography cases and his training in computer forensics, there was probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime involving child pornography was being concealed at the Minot residence. A state magistrate issued a warrant authorizing law enforcement officials to search the target residence and to seize images or videos of child pornography in any form, wherever they might be stored, including computers and related storage devices. The residence in question, according to Smith, appeared to be a single-family home based on its appearance and lack of unit numbers.
Smith — accompanied by Minot Police Sergeant Dave Goodman and Detective Krista Thompson, plus six other law enforcement officials — arrived at the residence on the morning of May 6, 2014, to execute the search warrant. Once inside, law enforcement officials interviewed the persons present and learned that the residence had as many as eleven occupants, some of whom sublet basement bedrooms, and all of whom could access the internet service wirelessly. No child pornography was found during the search of the entire residence, including a basement bedroom that Doe and another person rented. Doe
Doe claimed in his section 1983 action, as relevant to the issues he raises on appeal, that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated as follows: (1) the initial search warrant authorized the search of a single residence rather than a multi-tenant household; (2) the warrant authorizing the search of Doe’s vehicle was unsupported by probable cause; and (3) restricting his access to his vehicle for over two hours resulted in his unlawful detention. Among other defenses, defendants raised qualified immunity. The district court granted defendants summary judgment, and this appeal followed.
Based on the foregoing facts, and following de novo review, we agree with the district court that defendants were entitled to qualified immunity for claims arising out of their participation in the searches. See Chambers v. Pennycook, 641 F.3d 898, 904 (8th Cir. 2011) (noting that when defendant asserts qualified immunity at summary judgment stage, plaintiff must produce evidence sufficient to create genuine issue of fact on whether defendant violated clearly established law). Doe concedes that the first warrant was supported by probable cause to search the single-family residence of the person associated with the IP address linked to the transfer of illegal material; he contends that, nonetheless, the warrant did not satisfy the particularity requirement so as to enable defendants to search rented rooms within the residence. See Groh v. Ramirez, 540 U.S. 551, 557, 124 S.Ct. 1284, 157 L.Ed.2d 1068 (2004) (to be valid under Fourth Amendment, search warrant must be based on probable cause, be supported by oath or affirmation, and describe with particularity place to be searched and things to be seized). We conclude, however, that there was no clearly established law putting defendants on notice that a search of Doe’s rented room would violate the Fourth Amendment under .the circumstances. See Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 243-44, 129 S.Ct. 808, 172 L.Ed.2d 565 (2009) (officer conducting search is entitled to qualified immunity where clearly established law does not show search violated Fourth Amendment). The residence appeared to be a single-family home, with no separate unit numbers; and once inside, the search team learned that all of the
Doe argues that the search warrant for his vehicle and laptop computer was invalid, because defendants omitted information about the absence of evidence connecting him to child pornography. He does not identify, however, any false information in the warrant affidavit, and it was not entirely unreasonable for defendants to believe they had probable cause to search Doe’s vehicle and computer: occupants of the Minot residence told the search team that Doe had access to the residence’s wireless internet, and that he carried a laptop computer in a blue bag, and defendants spotted a bag matching that description inside Doe’s vehicle. See Messerschmidt v. Millender, 565 U.S. 535, 546, 132 S.Ct. 1235, 182 L.Ed.2d 47 (2012) (qualified immunity “gives government officials breathing room to make reasonable but mistaken judgments,” and “protects ‘all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law,’ ” quoting Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 563 U.S. 731, 743, 131 S.Ct. 2074, 179 L.Ed.2d 1149 (2011)); cf. Morris v. Lanpher, 563 F.3d 399, 403 (8th Cir. 2009) (plaintiffs bear the burden of proving intentional or reckless inclusion of false statements in warrant affidavit).
Finally, we agree with the district court that there was no evidence that Doe, who returned to work while defendants sought and obtained a warrant to search his vehicle, was unreasonably detained or restricted. Cf. Illinois v. McArthur, 531 U.S. 326, 332-33, 121 S.Ct. 946, 148 L.Ed.2d 838 (2001) (where police had probable cause to believe that party’s trailer home contained evidence of crime and contraband, it was reasonable for police to restrict him from entering his trailer for two hours while warrant was obtained).
Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.
. The Honorable Daniel L. Hovland, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, adopting the report and recommendations of the Honorable Charles S. Miller, Jr., United States Magistrate Judge for the District of North Dakota.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
Because I do not believe the officers are entitled to qualified immunity for the search of Doe’s room or the search and seizure of his vehicle and computer, I respectfully dissent. Doe’s challenge to the search of his room presents two separate constitutional issues, “one concerning the validity of the warrant and the other concerning the reasonableness of the manner in which it was executed.” Maryland v. Garrison, 480 U.S. 79, 84, 107 S.Ct. 1013, 94 L.Ed.2d 72 (1987). Even if the warrant was sufficiently particular to be valid, I believe that its execution violated Doe’s clearly established constitutional rights.
Federal courts have consistently held that if officers obtain a warrant to search a building containing a single residential unit, and discover or reasonably should discover during the execution of the warrant that the building actually contains multiple residential units, they are required to limit their search to the unit or units for which they have specific probable cause. E.g., id. at 86-87, 107 S.Ct. 1013; United States v. Williams, 917 F.2d 1088, 1092 (8th Cir. 1990); United States v. Ger
I also believe that the search and seizure of Doe’s vehicle and computer violated his clearly established constitutional rights. The only evidence suggesting that Doe might be the person who downloaded the child pornography was that he .was one of at least eleven people who could access his building’s wireless internet, and that he had a laptop computer in his vehicle. This evidence falls far short of establishing probable cause, and “no reasonably competent officer would have concluded that a warrant should issue.” Messerschmidt, 565 U.S. at 547, 132 S.Ct. 1235 (quoting Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 341, 106 S.Ct. 1092, 89 L.Ed.2d 271 (1986)). Because the search of Doe’s vehicle and computer was not supported by probable cause, I believe the two-and-a-half-hour-long detention of his vehicle and computer was likewise unlawful. See United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 709-10, 103 S.Ct. 2637, 77 L.Ed.2d 110 (1983) (concluding that a ninety-minute detention of luggage that was not supported by probable cause violated the Fourth Amendment). For these reasons, I believe the officers are not entitled to qualified immunity, and would reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Jose DOE Plaintiff-Appellant v. Jason T. OLSON, Chief of Police, Minot Police Department Defendant. Sgt. Dave Goodman, in His Individual and Official Capacities; Detective Thompson, in Her Individual and Official Capacities; Detective Jesse Smith, in His Individual and Official Capacities; Unknown, Number of Unknown Federal (ICE) and City of Minot Agents of Law Enforcement Defendants-Appellees
- Status
- Unpublished