Butler v. City of Sacramento
Butler v. City of Sacramento
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Sharee Butler sued the City of Sacramento, the Sacramento Police Department, and Sacramento Police Officer Michelle Perez. She alleged violations of her Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and violations under several state-law provisions. The district court dismissed or granted summary judgement in favor of the defendants with respect to each of Butler’s claims. Butler appeals only the district court’s ruling that Perez is entitled to qualified immunity with respect to Butler’s Fourth Amendment claim, and accordingly, none of her other claims are before us. As the facts are known to the parties, we will not repeat them here except to the extent necessary to explain our decision.
I
Perez is entitled to qualified immunity unless (1) the facts, viewed in the light most favorable to Butler, demonstrate a violation of a constitutional right and (2) that right was clearly established at the time of the defendant’s misconduct. Pearson v. Callahan, — U.S. -,- -, 129 S.Ct. 808, 815-16, 172 L.Ed.2d 565 (2009). This court may address these questions in any order it chooses. Id. at 818.
Assuming, without deciding, that Perez violated Butler’s Fourth Amendment rights by continuing to detain her after completing the search of her vehicle, this right was not clearly established in 2005, and Perez is therefore entitled to qualified immunity. A government official is immune from liability for discretionary functions, so long as the official’s conduct “does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Harlow v.
Butler cites no case directly demonstrating that the asserted right was clearly established in 2005.
II
Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
. Indeed, many of the cases she cites were decided after her 2005 arrest, and therefore cannot possibly demonstrate that Perez's actions violated a clearly established Fourth Amendment right. See, e.g., Arizona v. John-sow, -U.S.-, 129 S.Ct. 781, 172 L.Ed.2d 694 (2009); Los Angeles County v. Rettele, 550 U.S. 609, 127 S.Ct. 1989, 167 L.Ed.2d 974 (2007); United States v. Mendez, 476 F.3d 1077 (9th Cir. 2007).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.