Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/31/1241/592069/
Timestamp: 2020-06-04 08:49:32
Document Index: 333938014

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1983', '§ 1291', '§ 1292', '§ 1983', '§ 1983', '§ 1983']

James J. Giuffre, v. Nicholas Bissell; Richard Thornburg; Robert Smith; Russleffert; Sam Debella; Richard Meyers; County Ofsomerset, Appellants, 31 F.3d 1241 (3d Cir. 1994) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Third Circuit › 1994 › James J. Giuffre, v. Nicholas Bissell; Richard Thornburg; Robert Smith; Russleffert; Sam Debella; Ri...
James J. Giuffre, v. Nicholas Bissell; Richard Thornburg; Robert Smith; Russleffert; Sam Debella; Richard Meyers; County Ofsomerset, Appellants, 31 F.3d 1241 (3d Cir. 1994)
US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit - 31 F.3d 1241 (3d Cir. 1994) Argued May 2, 1994. Decided Aug. 4, 1994
Before: GREENBERG and GARTH, Circuit Judges, and ROBRENO, District Judge* .
On May 7, 1992, Giuffre filed the instant action, seeking compensatory and punitive damages against the County and against the appellant officials, both in their official and individual capacities, for violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the United States Constitution, and New Jersey law.3 In his complaint against the County and the officials, Giuffre also sought judgment rescinding the sale of his forfeited lots, and a declaratory judgment that the officials conspired to violate and/or violated his constitutional and civil rights, and conspired to deprive him of his property through fraud, duress and without due process of law.
The County and the appellant officials urge us to reverse the district court's denial of their motion for summary judgment. Generally, we ordinarily have no jurisdiction to review orders denying summary judgment because such orders are not final within the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 1291. W.D.D., Inc. v. Thornbury Township, 850 F.2d 170, 171 (3d Cir.) (in banc), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 892, 109 S. Ct. 228, 102 L. Ed. 2d 218 (1988).
The Supreme Court has held, however, that an order denying qualified or absolute immunity, to the extent that the order turns on an issue of law, is immediately appealable under the collateral order doctrine. Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530, 105 S. Ct. 2806, 2817-18, 86 L. Ed. 2d 411 (1985). That is because the immunity doctrine does not serve merely as a public official's defense to liability; rather it shelters that official from having to stand trial. This immunity from suit is lost when a case is erroneously permitted to go to trial. Id. at 526-27, 105 S. Ct. at 2815-16; Brown v. Grabowski, 922 F.2d 1097, 1105 (3d Cir. 1990), cert. denied, 501 U.S. 1218, 111 S. Ct. 2827, 115 L. Ed. 2d 997 (1991). We thus have appellate jurisdiction to consider the immunity issues raised by the individual officials.
Up to this point, Giuffre's claims for declaratory judgment and for judgment rescinding the forfeiture of his lots have not been ruled upon. In addition, the district court has refused to certify as final its order denying summary judgment on Giuffre's claims for money damages, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b).4 Giuffre's damage claims, however, are joined in his complaint with an ostensible claim for prospective injunctive relief. We have held in Prisco v. United States Dep't of Justice, 851 F.2d 93, 94 (3d Cir. 1988), cert. denied sub nom. Smith v. Prisco, 490 U.S. 1089, 109 S. Ct. 2428, 104 L. Ed. 2d 985 (1989), that the inclusion of a viable claim for prospective equitable relief bars interlocutory review of a district court's denial of immunity.
Id. at 96. Although we alone among the courts of appeals adhere to such a rule, we nevertheless are bound to follow Prisco in those cases where a plaintiff states a colorable claim for injunctive relief in addition to a claim for damages. See, e.g., Burns v. County of Cambria, 971 F.2d 1015, 1019 (3d Cir. 1992), cert denied sub nom. Roberts v. Mutsko, --- U.S. ----, 113 S. Ct. 1049, 122 L. Ed. 2d 357 (1993); see also Internal Operating Procedures, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Rule 9.1 ("The holding of a panel in a reported opinion is binding on subsequent panels.... in banc consideration is required [to overrule such a holding].").
Proper application of the Prisco rule requires an initial determination of whether a claim for injunctive relief is, on its face, colorable. Acierno v. Cloutier, 1994 WL 319783 * 8 (slip op. at 21) (3d Cir. July 7, 1994) ("Prisco allows us to 'examine [ ] the complaint carefully to determine whether any of its allegations would permit proof of facts warranting any prospective relief against [the defendant officials].' ") (quoting Prisco, 851 F.2d at 96). In the instant case, Giuffre's complaint clearly does not state a colorable claim for prospective equitable relief.
To hold otherwise might encourage future plaintiffs to add frivolous equitable claims to their damage claims so as to defeat the immediate appeal of orders denying official immunity. See Schrob v. Catterson ("Schrob II "), 967 F.2d 929, 940-41 (3d Cir. 1992) (noting that other courts of appeal which have rejected Prisco have expressed such a concern); cf. Scott v. Lacy, 811 F.2d 1153, 1154 (7th Cir. 1987) ("plaintiffs who wished to harass officials to travail would need only demand equitable relief, defeating the defendants' opportunity to obtain prompt review").
Giuffre argues, however, that we are without jurisdiction to hear the instant appeal because the district court denied immunity due to the existence of material disputes of fact. Contrary to Giuffre's position, the immediate appealability of orders denying immunity is not automatically defeated merely because some issues of material fact remain. Kulwicki v. Dawson, 969 F.2d 1454, 1460 (3d Cir. 1992) ("Insofar as there may be issues of material fact present in a case on appeal, we would have to look at those facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party."). In a non-Prisco case such as this one, we have jurisdiction to determine, as a matter of law, whether the individual officials' alleged conduct violated any "clearly established" constitutional rights. Mitchell, 472 U.S. at 530, 105 S. Ct. at 2818; Brown v. Grabowski, 922 F.2d at 1109.
Here, our task is somewhat complicated by the fact that the district court failed to make the threshold determination of whether the officials were entitled to immunity in the face of Giuffre's factual allegations. The district court never determined, as it was obliged to do, " 'whether the legal norms allegedly violated by the defendant were clearly established at the time of the challenged actions.' " Brown v. Grabowski, 922 F.2d at 1109 (quoting Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S. Ct. 2727, 2738, 73 L. Ed. 2d 396 (1981)). Indeed, the district court did not even identify the specific constitutional rights allegedly violated by the individual officials. It merely concluded "that whether Defendants violated any clearly established laws constitutes a genuine issue of material fact." Dist.Ct. Slip Op. at 8.
As part of our plenary review of a district court's immunity determination, we have jurisdiction to determine whether the plaintiff has asserted a violation of a constitutional right under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U.S. 226, 231, 111 S. Ct. 1789, 1792-93, 114 L. Ed. 2d 277 (1991); D.R. by L.R. v. Middle Bucks Area Vocational Technical Sch., 972 F.2d 1364, 1369 (3d Cir. 1992) (in banc), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S. Ct. 1045, 122 L. Ed. 2d 354 (1993). That is because " ' [a] necessary concomitant to the determination of whether the constitutional right asserted by a plaintiff is 'clearly established' at the time the defendant acted is the determination of whether the plaintiff has asserted a violation of a constitutional right at all.' " D.R. by L.R., 972 F.2d at 1368 (quoting Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U.S. at 232, 111 S. Ct. at 1793) (emphasis added in D.R. by L.R.).
The denial of summary judgment on Giuffre's claims in Counts 4 and 5 of his complaint, seeking damages against Prosecutor Bissell and Chief Thornburg for failing to train and supervise subordinates in the Prosecutor's Office, is not immediately appealable. That is because the County is the real party in interest with respect to these claims, and the County cannot assert a qualified immunity defense so as to qualify, under Mitchell, for review of the district court's summary judgment ruling. Brown v. Grabowski, 922 F.2d at 1105; see also Owen v. City of Independence, 445 U.S. 622, 638, 650, 100 S. Ct. 1398, 1409, 1415, 63 L. Ed. 2d 673 (1980) (holding that Sec. 1983 does not accord municipal corporations a qualified immunity for their good-faith constitutional violations).
That portion of the interlocutory order of the district court denying the appellant officials immunity on Giuffre's pendent state claims, contained in Counts 6, 7, and 8 of Giuffre's complaint, also is unreviewable at this time. As we explained in Brown v. Grabowski, decisions concerning immunity from suit on federal claims fall within the small class of appealable decisions--carved out by the Supreme Court in Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 546, 69 S. Ct. 1221, 1225-26, 93 L. Ed. 1528 (1949)--that " 'finally determine claims of right separable from, and collateral to, rights asserted in the action.' " 922 F.2d at 1106 (quoting Mitchell, 472 U.S. at 527-29, 105 S. Ct. at 2816-17). The denial of a claim of qualified immunity premised upon state law, on the other hand, is appealable only if the state has conferred an underlying substantive immunity from suits arising from the performance of official duties. 922 F.2d at 1106-07. Because the New Jersey Tort Claims Act provides a government official with immunity from liability, not immunity from suits arising from the performance of official duties, we must dismiss for lack of appellate jurisdiction that portion of the officials' appeal which is based on immunity under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act. Id. at 1108-09.
Giuffre claims that Chief Thornburg gave him an hour to make up his mind, but forbad him from speaking first with his attorney. Giuffre further alleges that Chief Thornburg threatened that, if Giuffre refused to cooperate, his home and the building lots would be forfeited; his fiancée would be put out of the house they shared and possibly face criminal charges herself; he would "rot in jail for a year" before going to trial, and he would lose his professional licenses. App. 312.
Chief Thornburg and Deputy Chief Smith together offer a significantly different version of the circumstances surrounding the forfeiture of the building lots. They deny having had any prior knowledge of the lots before Giuffre proposed substituting those lots in lieu of the forfeiture of his house and car. They were amenable to Giuffre keeping his car and his house, they contend, only because that would facilitate Giuffre's effectiveness as an informant. As Deputy Chief Smith explained in his deposition, their feeling was that Giuffre "needed the vehicle to cooperate with," and it was better for Giuffre "to do his dealings out of, his house, instead of going to a motel," because " [p]eople get nervous from motels." App. 450. Chief Thornburg maintains that Giuffre voluntarily acknowledged that the lots were purchased in part from the proceeds of illegal drug distribution, and that he never made any promises that Giuffre would not be prosecuted if he cooperated and turned over the building lots. Thornburg denies that Giuffre ever requested an attorney at any time during their discussions. He also denies ever threatening harm to Giuffre, Giuffre's fiancée, or Giuffre's dogs.
Prosecutors are subject to varying levels of official immunity. Absolute immunity attaches to all actions performed in a "quasi-judicial" role. Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 430, 96 S. Ct. 984, 994-95, 47 L. Ed. 2d 128 (1976). This includes activity taken while in court, such as the presentation of evidence or legal argument, as well as selected out-of-court behavior "intimately associated with the judicial phases" of litigation. See id.; Fry [v. Melaragno], 939 F.2d [832, 838 (9th Cir. 1991) ] (activity occurring as part of presentation of evidence is absolutely protected). By contrast, a prosecutor acting in an investigative or administrative capacity is protected only by qualified immunity. Imbler, 424 U.S. at 430-31, 96 S. Ct. at 994-96; Burns v. Reed, [500 U.S. 478, 483-84 n. 2], 111 S. Ct. 1934, 1938 n. 2, 114 L. Ed. 2d 547 (1991). In addition, there may be instances where a prosecutor's behavior falls completely outside the prosecutorial role. See Rose v. Bartle, 871 F.2d 331, 346 (3d Cir. 1989). In that case, no absolute immunity is available.
In determining whether absolute immunity is available for particular actions, the courts engage in a "functional" analysis of each alleged activity. See Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 811, 102 S. Ct. 2727, 2734, 73 L. Ed. 2d 396 (1982); Rose, 871 F.2d at 343. Three factors determine whether a government official should be given absolute immunity for a particular function: 1) whether there is "a historical or common law basis for the immunity in question;" 2) whether performance of the function poses a risk of harassment or vexatious litigation against the official; and 3) whether there exist alternatives to damage suits against the official as means of redressing wrongful conduct. Mitchell, 472 U.S. at 521-22, 105 S. Ct. at 2812. See Burns, 500 U.S. at 483-85, 111 S. Ct. at 1938; Fry, 939 F.2d at 836 n. 6.
Where absolute immunity does not apply, qualified immunity protects official action, if the officer's behavior was "objectively reasonable" in light of the constitutional rights affected. [Brown v.] Grabowski, 922 F.2d at 1109; Schrob [v. Catterson "Schrob I"], 948 F.2d [1402, 1421 (3d Cir. 1991) ]. Objective reasonableness is measured by the amount of knowledge available to the officer at the time of the alleged violation. See Grabowski, 922 F.2d at 1111.
The decision to initiate a prosecution is at the core of a prosecutor's judicial role. Imbler, 424 U.S. at 430-31, 96 S. Ct. at 994-96. See Rose, 871 F.2d at 343. A prosecutor is absolutely immune when making this decision, even when he acts without a good faith belief that any wrong-doing has occurred. See Rose, 871 F.2d at 347 n. 12; Joseph v. Patterson, 795 F.2d 549, 557 (6th Cir. 1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1023, 107 S. Ct. 1910, 95 L. Ed. 2d 516 (1987). Harm to a falsely-charged defendant is remedied by safeguards built into the judicial system--probable cause hearings, dismissal of the charges--and into the state codes of responsibility. Burns, 500 U.S. at 485-87, 491-92, 111 S. Ct. at 1939, 1942.
More recently, the Supreme Court in Buckley v. Fitzsimmons, --- U.S. ----, 113 S. Ct. 2606, 125 L. Ed. 2d 209 (1993), reaffirmed the principle that " [a] prosecutor's administrative duties and those investigatory functions that do not relate to an advocate's preparation for the initiation of a prosecution or for judicial proceedings are not entitled to absolute immunity," although those duties and functions may be protected by qualified immunity. Id. at ----, 113 S. Ct. at 2615. The Court reasoned that, " [w]hen a prosecutor performs the investigative functions normally performed by a detective or police officer, it is 'neither appropriate nor justifiable that, for the same act, immunity should protect the one and not the other.' " Id. at ----, 113 S. Ct. at 2616. The Court also held that the official seeking absolute immunity bears the burden of showing it is justified for the function in question. Id. at ----, 113 S. Ct. at 2613. Based on that reasoning, the Court in Buckley held that a prosecutor, who was sued in a Sec. 1983 action by a released murder suspect, was not entitled to absolute immunity because he was not acting as an advocate for the State when he allegedly fabricated evidence against the murder suspect and made false statements to the press about that evidence. The Buckley prosecutor thus had to seek protection under the qualified immunity doctrine. Id. at ---- - ----, 113 S. Ct. at 2617-18.
Viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to Giuffre, we cannot hold that Bissell is entitled to absolute prosecutorial immunity for his role in the sale of Giuffre's forfeited property by the County. Bissell's actions in the allegedly improper sale of the property seized by the government clearly involved administrative duties, for which he is not entitled to absolute immunity. Buckley v. Fitzsimmons, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S. Ct. at 2615; Schrob I, 948 F.2d at 1419.
Nor do we believe that Bissell has satisfied his burden of demonstrating that absolute immunity shields him from any liability for his allegedly improper conduct in the negotiated transaction with Giuffre. Bissell's alleged conduct cannot properly be characterized as "acts undertaken by a prosecutor in preparing for the initiation of judicial proceedings or for trial," which are therefore entitled to the protection of absolute immunity. See Buckley v. Fitzsimmons, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S. Ct. at 2615. The approval and authorization of a transaction whereby Giuffre escaped prosecution for serious drug offenses does not constitute the initiation of a prosecution, for which judicial safeguards exist to protect the defendant. To the contrary, the very essence of the transaction with Giuffre was the avoidance of prosecution. Indeed, Bissell concedes that the negotiations with Giuffre for his cooperation were focused on a dismissal of the charges, and not on a guilty plea.
Significantly, Bissell points us to no analogous historical or common-law basis for an absolute immunity for prosecutors who advise investigators on how to proceed with the type of informal transaction here, whereby an arrestee in an "air-tight" drug case is given his freedom in exchange for cooperation and property.8 See Mitchell, 472 U.S. at 521, 105 S. Ct. at 2813 ("First, in deciding whether officials performing a particular function are entitled to absolute immunity, we have generally looked for a historical or common-law basis for the immunity in question."). We reach this conclusion because, contrary to Bissell's position, we do not view his approval of the transaction with Giuffre as analogous to an in rem civil forfeiture.
Rather, we view Prosecutor Bissell's act of advising Chief Thornburg during the challenged forfeiture negotiations as the functional equivalent of a prosecutor providing legal advice to police during the investigative stages of a criminal proceeding, an act which is not absolutely immunized from liability. Burns v. Reed, 500 U.S. at 496, 111 S. Ct. at 1944-45. In Burns v. Reed, the Supreme Court determined that there was no historical or common-law support for extending absolute immunity to a prosecutor's act of counseling police that hypnosis was an acceptable investigative technique in questioning a mother suspected of attempting to kill her two sons. While we are cognizant of the factual distinctions between the instant case, where Giuffre was under arrest by the Prosecutor's Office, and Burns v. Reed, where police were questioning an unarrested suspect, we believe that the rationale of the Court in that case applies with equal force here.
Id. at 495, 111 S. Ct. at 1944. That reasoning, which we believe applicable here, was reaffirmed by the Court in Buckley v. Fitzsimmons, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S. Ct. at 2617 ("When the functions of prosecutors and detectives are the same, as they were here, the immunity that protects them is the same.").
Bissell also has failed to demonstrate a risk of vexatious litigation that would not be alleviated by the norm of qualified immunity. See Burns v. Reed, 500 U.S. at 494, 111 S. Ct. at 1944-45 ("Absolute immunity is designed to free the judicial process from the harassment and intimidation associated with litigation."); see also Mitchell, 472 U.S. at 521, 105 S. Ct. at 2813 (noting the "obvious risks of entanglement in vexatious litigation" that arise from "the judicial or 'quasi-judicial' tasks that have been the primary wellsprings of absolute immunity"). Nor has Bissell presented us with any alternative means apart from the instant action for redressing the wrongful conduct alleged here by Giuffre. See Mitchell, 472 U.S. at 522, 105 S. Ct. at 2813 (" [M]ost of the officials who are entitled to absolute immunity from liability are subject to other checks to help to prevent abuses of authority from going unredressed.").
Because Giuffre was never formally charged with any crime, he cannot seek redress through the criminal process for the wrongful conduct he attributes to Prosecutor Bissell. Nor, as we have just discussed, are there any safeguards of the judicial process--apart from the instant action--to serve as a restraint on the type of prosecutorial misconduct alleged by Giuffre. See Burns v. Reed, 500 U.S. at 492, 111 S. Ct. at 1942 (" ' [T]he safeguards built into the judicial system tend to reduce the need for private damages actions as a means of controlling unconstitutional conduct.' ") (citation omitted); Mitchell, 472 U.S. at 522-23, 105 S. Ct. at 2813 (" [T]he judicial process is largely self-correcting: procedural rules, appeals, and the possibility of collateral challenges obviate the need for damages actions to prevent unjust results.").
Prosecutor Bissell thus has failed to carry his burden of establishing that he was functioning as an "advocate" when he directed Chief Thornburg to question Giuffre concerning his future cooperation with investigators, or when he counseled Thornburg to ensure that illegal proceeds had been used in the purchase of Giuffre's building lots, all for the alleged purpose of acquiring property and allowing Giuffre to avoid the judicial process entirely. Those actions "have no functional tie to the judicial process," and are not entitled to absolute immunity merely because they were actions undertaken by a prosecutor. See Buckley, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S. Ct. at 2618.
We hold, therefore, that Prosecutor Bissell is not entitled to absolute immunity, and that he is, at most, entitled to qualified immunity for his actions. Our decision is informed by the teaching of the Supreme Court that we must be " 'quite sparing' " in recognizing absolute prosecutorial immunity. Id. at ----, 113 S. Ct. at 2613 (citation omitted).
Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U.S. at 232, 111 S. Ct. at 1793.
In determining whether a government official is entitled to qualified immunity, we must apply the two-part, objective test enunciated by the Supreme Court in Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S. Ct. 2727, 2738, 73 L. Ed. 2d 396 (1982):
Id.; see Abdul-Akbar, 4 F.3d at 201; Burns v. County of Cambria, 971 F.2d at 1021. The "clearly established" standard of Harlow was delineated by the Supreme Court in Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640, 107 S. Ct. 3034, 3039, 97 L. Ed. 2d 523 (1987):
This inquiry requires a threshold determination of whether the constitutional rights asserted by the plaintiff were "clearly established" at the time the defendant officials acted, and whether the plaintiff " 'has asserted a violation of a constitutional right at all.' " Acierno, 1994 WL 319783 at * 7 (slip op. at 17) (quoting Siegert, 500 U.S. at 232, 111 S. Ct. at 1793). As we discussed above in deciding the jurisdictional issues, the district court never determined whether Giuffre asserted a violation of a constitutional right, let alone a "clearly established" right. The court's entire discussion of qualified immunity was:
Finally, the individual Defendants argue that they are entitled to qualified immunity. In Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635 [107 S. Ct. 3034, 97 L. Ed. 2d 523] (1987), the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the test for qualified immunity is based on objective reasonableness--"whether a reasonable officer could have believed [the challenged action] to be lawful, in light of clearly established law and the information the [ ] officers possessed." Id. at 641 [107 S. Ct. at 3039-40]. Plaintiff asserts that Defendants Leffert, Meyers, and DeBella repeatedly denied him the right to counsel, and that Defendants Smith, Thornburg, and Bissell also denied him counsel and unlawfully took his property without due process of law. The Court finds that whether Defendant violated any clearly established laws constitutes a genuine issue of material fact.
In reviewing the district court's order denying qualified immunity, we thus must determine whether " 'reasonable officials in the defendants' position at the relevant time could have believed, in light of what was in the decided case law, that their conduct would be unlawful.' " Abdul-Akbar, 4 F.3d at 202 (quoting Good v. Dauphin County Social Servs. for Children and Youth, 891 F.2d 1087, 1092 (3d Cir. 1989)). Where appropriate, we may consider whether the constitutional rights asserted by Giuffre were "clearly established" at the time the individual officials acted, without initially deciding whether a constitutional violation was alleged at all. See Acierno, 1994 WL 319783 at * 23 n. 7 (slip op. at 17 n. 7); Rappa v. New Castle County, 18 F.3d 1043, 1077-79 (3d Cir. 1994); Abdul-Akbar v. Watson, 4 F.3d 195, 201-05 (3d Cir. 1993). As we stated in Good, " [t]he ultimate issue is whether, despite the absence of a case applying established principles to the same facts, reasonable officers in the defendants' position at the relevant time could have believed, in light of what was in the decided case law, that their conduct was lawful." 891 F.2d at 1092. We note that qualified immunity protects "all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law." Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 341, 106 S. Ct. 1092, 1096, 89 L. Ed. 2d 271 (1986); Schrob I, 948 F.2d at 1421.
Giuffre concedes, as he must, that violations of the prophylactic Miranda procedures do not amount to violations of the Constitution itself. Giuffre br. at 26; see, e.g., Warren v. City of Lincoln, 864 F.2d 1436, 1442 (8th Cir.) (holding that "the remedy for a Miranda violation is the exclusion from evidence of any compelled self-incrimination, not a section 1983 action"), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1091, 109 S. Ct. 2431, 104 L. Ed. 2d 988 (1989); Bennett v. Passic, 545 F.2d 1260, 1263 (10th Cir. 1976) ("No rational argument can be made in support of the notion that the failure to give Miranda warnings subjects a police officer to liability under the Civil Rights Act"). The right protected under the Fifth Amendment is the right not to be compelled to be a witness against oneself in a criminal prosecution, whereas the "right to counsel" during custodial interrogation recognized in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966), is merely a procedural safeguard, and not a substantive right. Id.
Giuffre contends, however, that the alleged conduct of Sergeant Meyers and Detectives Leffert and DeBella reached beyond Miranda and touched upon his substantive Fifth Amendment rights. His argument is that, although he was advised of, and waived, his Miranda rights, "Mirandizing was a farce" because the individual officers never intended to allow him to exercise his right to remain silent. Giuffre br. at 30. Relying exclusively on the Ninth Circuit's en banc opinion in Cooper v. Dupnik, 963 F.2d 1220 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S. Ct. 407, 121 L. Ed. 2d 332 (1992), Giuffre asserts that the Fifth Amendment violation alleged here sustains his Sec. 1983 action against the individual officials.
Giuffre's reliance on Cooper is misplaced. The majority in Cooper broke new ground when it held, in 1992, that a Sec. 1983 claim for violation of the Fifth Amendment self-incrimination clause was stated by allegations that the plaintiff's statements were compelled, even though those statements were never used against the plaintiff in a court of law. 963 F.2d at 1242-43. The dissenting judges in Cooper presented a persuasive argument that the Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination is not violated until evidence is admitted in a criminal case. See 963 F.2d at 1253-55 (Brunetti, J., dissenting); id. at 1256-57 (Leavy, J., dissenting). This disagreement, and subsequent opinions of other courts of appeal, indicate to us that the law on which Giuffre relies is not clearly established at this time. Wiley v. Doory, 14 F.3d 993, 997-98 (4th Cir. 1994) (holding that "law not clearly established even at time of the Cooper decision" and "remains unsettled" today); see also Mahoney v. Kesery, 976 F.2d 1054, 1062 (7th Cir. 1992) (declining to decide whether view of en banc Ninth Circuit in Cooper "is sound"). If the law on which Giuffre pins his claims is not presently clear, it could not have been clearly established in 1990 when Giuffre's Fifth Amendment violations were alleged to have occurred.
It is settled law that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not attach until the "initiation of adversary judicial proceedings," Michigan v. Jackson, 475 U.S. 625, 629, 106 S. Ct. 1404, 89 L. Ed. 2d 631 (1986), by way of any formal charge, preliminary hearing, indictment, information, or arraignment. Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387, 398, 97 S. Ct. 1232, 1239, 51 L. Ed. 2d 424 (1977); Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682, 689, 92 S. Ct. 1877, 1882, 32 L. Ed. 2d 411 (1972). Giuffre was never formally charged with the drug offenses, and his only appearance in court resulted in a postponement to allow him time to retain counsel.
We do not believe, as Giuffre urges, that his informal transaction with the Prosecutor's Office can properly be analogized to the formality of the plea bargaining process in which the result is ultimately submitted to the court. Compare Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 260-61, 92 S. Ct. 495, 497-98, 30 L. Ed. 2d 427 (1971) (vacating judgment of conviction and sentencing of defendant whose formal plea agreement was not honored by prosecutor). Furthermore, we have held that the remedy for the failure to provide an accused with the benefit of counsel during plea bargaining is withdrawal of the guilty plea without inquiry into whether demonstrable harm resulted. Gallarelli v. United States, 441 F.2d 1402, 1405 (3d Cir. 1971) (" [T]he guidance of counsel is so essential a protection for an accused during plea bargaining and in the making of a decision to plead guilty that a plea entered without such guidance must be set aside.").
With respect to Giuffre's substantive due process claim, the individual officials argue that there could have been no Fourteenth Amendment violation because they had the right to entertain an agreement whereby Giuffre forfeited the building lots in exchange for a dismissal of the criminal charges. We disagree. We believe that the conduct of the individual officials alleged by Giuffre is sufficiently conscience-shocking as to state a legally cognizable claim for a violation of substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. See Fagan v. City of Vineland, 22 F.3d 1296 (3d Cir. 1994) (in banc) (" [T]he substantive component of the Due Process Clause can only be violated by governmental employees when their conduct amounts to an abuse of official power that 'shocks the conscience.' "); see also Collins v. City of Harker Heights, Tex., --- U.S. ----, ----, 112 S. Ct. 1061, 1069, 117 L. Ed. 2d 261 (1992) (reaffirming "shock [s] the conscience" standard in civil damage actions for violations of substantive due process); Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327, 331, 106 S. Ct. 662, 665, 88 L. Ed. 2d 662 (1986) (the substantive component of the Due Process Clause "serves to prevent governmental power from being 'used for purposes of oppression' ") (citation omitted).
The individual officials' arguments to the contrary are unpersuasive. They argue that, pursuant to application of the "relation-back doctrine," title to Giuffre's property vested with the State prior to any contact between them and Giuffre, and that they therefore cannot under any circumstances be deemed unlawfully to have deprived Giuffre of his property. However, the common law "relation back" doctrine, which is a fictional and retroactive vesting of title, is not self-executing; rather, it takes effect only upon the entry of a judicial order of forfeiture or condemnation. United States v. A Parcel of Land, Bldgs., Appurtenances & Improvements, --- U.S. ----, ----, 113 S. Ct. 1126, 1135, 122 L. Ed. 2d 469 (1993) (Opinion of Stevens, J.), affirming, 937 F.2d 98 (3d Cir. 1991). That doctrine is intended to protect the property rights of innocent purchasers of forfeited land, see 937 F.2d at 102-103; it does not shield public officials from any possible liability for a coercive and fraudulent forfeiture of property such as Giuffre alleges here.
The individual officials, in any event, do not appear to challenge the principle that a showing of coercive conduct through threats and intimidation in order to induce a suspect to make a statement would constitute a violation of Giuffre's right of substantive due process of law guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Rather, the essence of their argument is that they did not do what Giuffre alleges they did. Their "I didn't do it" defense to Giuffre's substantive Fourteenth Amendment claim is not cognizable as a declaration of qualified immunity. Burns v. County of Cambria, 971 F.2d at 1019. As Judge Easterbrook reasoned in Elliott v. Thomas, 937 F.2d 338 (7th Cir. 1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S. Ct. 1242, 117 L. Ed. 2d 475 (1992): " [T]here is no separate 'right not to be tried' on the question whether the defendants did the deeds alleged; that is precisely the question for trial.... It is impossible to know which 'clearly established' rules of law to consult unless you know what is going on." Id. at 341.
Hence, we have no jurisdiction to determine whether the district court properly denied the summary judgment motion of the individual officials on any of Giuffre's claim predicated on violations of his substantive right of due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment. Burns v. County of Cambria, 971 F.2d at 1019 (declining to exercise jurisdiction over appeals of defendant officials who had rested their case on the mere denial that the conduct alleged by the plaintiffs had occurred); Ryan v. Burlington County, N.J., 860 F.2d 1199, 1203 n. 8 (3d Cir. 1988) (noting that court will not exercise jurisdiction where "I didn't do it" defense merely refutes plaintiff's case-in-chief), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1020, 109 S. Ct. 1745, 104 L. Ed. 2d 182 (1989); see also Abdul-Akbar, 4 F.3d at 201 (noting that the question of qualified immunity often cannot be resolved adequately until dispositive facts have been presented at trial and reduced to findings).
At oral argument, all counsel admitted that, despite the virtual conclusive proof that Giuffre was involved in drug distribution, Giuffre had not been indicted. Counsel for Giuffre readily acknowledged that there was "never any question" that Giuffre had cocaine in his house at the time of his arrest. Transcript of Oral Argument at 30. The suggestion was voiced by the attorney for the County and appellant officials that, although the criminal case against Giuffre was "air-tight," the County Prosecutor's Office "felt that it would look like vindictive prosecution" if it indicted Giuffre after he commenced this civil action. Id. at 21-23. The County thus made a "strategical decision at the beginning of [this civil] case" not to indict Giuffre so as to avoid any "inconsisten [cy in] establishing during the trial that there was, in fact, a deal that is enforceable." Id. at 22
Counts 1 and 2 of Giuffre's complaint allege that the appellant officials conspired to deprive Giuffre and actually deprived Giuffre of his constitutional and civil rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985. Count 3 alleges that the officials conspired to violate Giuffre's rights under the United States Constitution. Count 4 alleges that the County had a de facto policy of targeting for criminal investigation and prosecution individuals who owned substantial assets, and of obtaining those assets through fraud and duress, and in violation of their constitutional and civil rights, and that that alleged policy was maintained and implemented by Prosecutor Bissell, Chief Thornburg, and other members of the Prosecutor's staff. Count 5 asserts violations of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1986 by virtue of the alleged failure of Bissell and Thornburg to train and supervise properly their subordinates.