Case Name: Pansy BLACKWELL, Appellant, v. Jim HOHN (originally sued as Jim Haun), Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2000-12-29
Citations: 235 F.3d 1121
Docket Number: No. 00-1190EA
Parties: Pansy BLACKWELL, Appellant, v. Jim HOHN (originally sued as Jim Haun), Appellee.
Judges: Before RICHARD S. ARNOLD, HANSEN, and BYE, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: Federal Reporter 3d Series
Volume: 235
Pages: 1121–1122

Head Matter:
Pansy BLACKWELL, Appellant, v. Jim HOHN (originally sued as Jim Haun), Appellee.
No. 00-1190EA.
United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.
Submitted: Dec. 5, 2000.
Filed: Dec. 29, 2000.
Before RICHARD S. ARNOLD, HANSEN, and BYE, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
Pansy Blackwell brought a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action claiming that, after she had pleaded guilty to a municipal charge, Police Chief Jim Hóhn conducted a warrant-less search of her home in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Hohn moved for summary judgment and presented undisputed evidence that, upon arriving at the jail to begin serving her sentence, Blackwell lost consciousness; she was transported to an emergency room; and at the behest of medical personnel, he retrieved medication from Blackwell's residence and delivered it to the emergency room. The District Court granted Hohn's motion, dismissed the complaint, and denied Blackwell's motions for reconsideration. Blackwell appeals.
Upon de novo review, see Brouhard v. Lee, 125 F.3d 656, 659 (8th Cir.1997), we conclude that Hohn's retrieval of Blackwell's medications from her home fell within an exception to the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches, see Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 392, 98 S.Ct. 2408, 57 L.Ed.2d 290 (1978) (need to protect or preserve life or avoid serious injury justifies what would otherwise be illegal absent emergency), and therefore did not violate Blackwell's Fourth Amendment rights. We find no abuse of discretion in the District Court's denial of Blackwell's postjudgment motions. See Schoffstall v. Henderson, 223 F.3d 818, 827 (8th Cir.2000) (standard of review).
Accordingly, we affirm. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.
. The Honorable James Maxwell Moody, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas.