Jones v. Dist. of Columbia
Jones v. Dist. of Columbia
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff Richard Jones asserts several claims against the District of Columbia stemming from his alleged overdetention and strip search. Before the Court is the District's Motion to Dismiss the First *83Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). For the reasons discussed below, the Court grants in part and denies in part the District's motion to dismiss.
I. BACKGROUND
On December 7, 2015, Jones attended a hearing at the federal courthouse and was ordered released from the custody of the Department of Corrections. First Amended Compl. ¶¶ 128, 129, 135, Dkt. 12. Following the hearing, the Marshals transferred Jones to Department of Corrections staff who then transported Jones to the D.C. Jail. Id. At the D.C. Jail, Jones allegedly told the receiving and discharge staff that he had been ordered released, but the staff could not find a release order. Id. ¶¶ 130, 131. Thus, staff subjected Jones to a strip-search and returned him to his cell in the general population. Id. ¶¶ 130, 131, 137. Jones alleges that he was held in the D.C. Jail for several hours. Id. ¶¶ 132. In the alternative, Jones alleges that he was held more than five hours from the moment the Marshals transferred him to the Department of Corrections transport officers at the federal courthouse. Id. ¶ 133.
Jones further alleges that the Department of Corrections "routinely" and "systematically" holds detainees past their release times. Id. ¶¶ 13, 117. In particular, Jones claims that the Department of Corrections' practice of not releasing inmates until it obtains inmates' paper release dispositions leads to the unconstitutional overdetention of individuals who have been ordered released. Id. ¶ 41. Jones also contends that the Department of Corrections "does not reliably" follow its own policy that requires transporting defendants who have been ordered released to D.C. General Hospital where they are not subjected to strip searches, absent individualized suspicion. Id. ¶ 37.
Jones asserts constitutional claims based on his overdetention and strip search. Additionally, he asserts common law claims for false arrest and invasion of privacy.
II. LEGAL STANDARD(S)
In evaluating a motion to dismiss, the Court must treat the complaint's "factual allegations as true and must grant the plaintiff the benefit of all inferences that can be derived from the facts alleged." Center for Responsible Science v. Gottlieb ,
To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint "must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Ashcroft v. Iqbal ,
Here, Jones attempts to state several claims for municipal liability. To determine whether Jones has stated a claim, the Court must conduct a two-step inquiry: "First, the court must determine whether the complaint states a claim for a predicate *84constitutional violation. Second, if so, then the court must determine whether the complaint states a claim that a custom or policy of the municipality caused the violation." Baker v. District of Columbia ,
III. ANALYSIS
Jones argues that his overdetention and strip search violated his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.
A. Constitutional Claims Stemming from Jones's Overdetention
Jones first argues that his overdetention constituted an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment guarantees the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const. amend. IV. "A seizure triggering the Fourth Amendment's protections occurs when a person's freedom of movement is terminated or restrained, either by physical force or a show of authority." See Barnes v. District of Columbia ,
Jones next argues that his overdetention violated his substantive due process right under the Fifth Amendment.
An overdetention of the kind that Jones alleges potentially violates "the substantive component of the Due Process Clause by infringing upon an individual's basic liberty interest in being free from *85incarceration absent a criminal conviction." Barnes v. District of Columbia ,
Here, the District asks the Court to decide that certain delays, at least those for only a few hours, are per se reasonable. "Yet it remains the case that courts have not settled on any concrete number of permissible hours of delay in the context of post-release detentions." Barnes v. District of Columbia ,
To state a claim for municipal liability, Jones also must state a claim that a custom or policy of the municipality caused the predicate constitutional violation. Jones's complaint also satisfies that burden. "There are four basic categories of municipal action" that Jones "may rely on to establish municipal liability: (1) express municipal policy; (2) adoption by municipal policymakers; (3) custom or usage; and (4) deliberate indifference." Hunter v. District of Columbia ,
In short, Jones has stated a claim that the District's release-processing system delays the release of individuals and leads to overdetention. Accordingly, the Court denies the District's motion to dismiss as to Jones's claim that his overdetention violated his rights under the Fifth Amendment.
B. Constitutional Claims Stemming from Jones's Strip Search
Next, Jones argues that the strip search conducted before Jones was returned to his cell violated his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.
According to Jones, strip searching an inmate who has been ordered released before returning that inmate to the general population violates the Fourth Amendment unless the corrections officials have individualized, reasonable suspicion to search *86the inmate. That argument is belied by D.C. Circuit and Supreme Court precedent.
In Bell v. Wolfish , the Supreme Court established a balancing test for courts to use when evaluating the reasonableness of inmate searches: Courts must balance "the need for the particular search against the invasion of personal rights that the search entails."
Here, the District does not argue that it had individualized, reasonable suspicion to search Jones. Instead, the District argues that whenever a prisoner enters "the general population from the outside" prison officials need to conduct a search to bar "potential contraband from entry into the prison population." Def's Mot. at 16, Dkt. 17. The Supreme Court recognized that rationale as legitimate: prison officials have "a substantial interest in preventing any new inmate ... from putting all who live or work at these institutions at even greater risk when he is admitted to the general population." Florence ,
Joints argues that this Court should follow the approach adopted in Barnes v. District of Columbia . In Barnes , the plaintiffs also challenged the strip search policy of the District. There, the district court denied the District's motion to dismiss. See
*87Moreover, even if Jones were correct that the strip search violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment, Jones has not alleged that a custom or policy of the District caused the strip search. In fact, Jones alleges that the District's official policy is to divert defendants that have been ordered released "to a holding facility on the grounds of DC General Hospital ... where they would not be subject to a strip search, absent individualized suspicion." Compl. ¶ 35, Dkt. 12. Jones, therefore, has not alleged that an express policy or a custom or practice led to his strip search. Thus, the Court grants the District's motion to dismiss as to Jones's claim that the strip search violated the Fourth Amendment.
Jones's Fifth Amendment claim also fails: "Where a particular Amendment provides an explicit textual source of constitutional protection against a particular sort of governmental behavior, that Amendment, not the generalized notion of substantive due process, must be the guide for analyzing these claims." Albright v. Oliver ,
C. Common Law Claims
Finally, Jones argues that his overdetention and strip search violated the common law torts of false arrest and invasion of privacy.
First, Jones argues that his overdetention constituted false arrest or false imprisonment.
Second, Jones argues that his strip search violated his "common law right to privacy." Compl. ¶ 172, Dkt. 12. An invasion of privacy cause of action may be based on the intrusion upon one's physical solitude or seclusion." Harris v. Department of Justice ,
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court denies in part and grants in part the District's motion to dismiss. Specifically, Counts 3, 4, and 5 are dismissed for failure to state a claim. Counts 1 and 2 survive insofar as they allege that the District violated Jones's rights under the Fifth Amendment by continuing to detain Jones after a court ordered Jones's release. Jones's claim that the District violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment by overdetaining him is dismissed. Jones's Motion for Leave to File supplemental authorities is denied as moot. A separate order consistent with this decision accompanies this memorandum opinion.
In the motion to dismiss, the District argues that Jones has failed to state a claim sufficient to establish an Eighth Amendment violation. Jones clarified in his opposition that he did "not plead an Eighth Amendment over-detention claim in the First Amended Complaint." Pl.'s Opp'n at 1, n.1, Dkt. 18.
Jones asserts that he has stated "a claim for a predicate constitutional violation of his procedural due process claim." Pl.'s Opp'n at 19, Dkt. 18. But Jones does not identify any specific procedure that he should have received, and he characterizes the District's violation as an infringement of his "liberty interest." That language suggests that substantive due process protections are a better fit for Jones's Fifth Amendment claim.
"There is no real difference as a practical matter between false arrest and false imprisonment." Barnhardt v. District of Columbia ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Richard JONES v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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- 1 case
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- Published