Opinion ID: 48719
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did the Deputies Violate Freeman's Constitutional Rights?

Text: 14 As a general matter, it is beyond question that Freeman has a clearly established constitutional right to be free from arrest absent an arrest warrant or probable cause. See, e.g., Flores, 381 F.3d at 402; Glenn, 242 F.3d at 313. The deputies make a number of arguments as to why their arrest or detention of Freeman in this case was lawful. The deputies first argue that they did not arrest Freeman, but rather simply detained her. They claim that this detention was permissible both under the principles of Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692, 101 S.Ct. 2587, 69 L.Ed.2d 340 (1981), and because they had reasonable suspicion to believe that Freeman had committed the offenses of Interference with Public Duties and Hindering Apprehension. They also argue that, even if they did arrest Freeman, they had probable cause to arrest her for those offenses.
15 In Summers, the Supreme Court recognized a specific exception to the general principle that a warrantless police seizure of a person requires probable cause by holding that a valid search warrant implicitly carries with it the limited authority to detain the occupants of the premises while a proper search is conducted. 452 U.S. at 705, 101 S.Ct. 2587. The Summers court began with the recognition that certain types of police detention constitute such limited intrusions on the personal security of those detained and are justified by such substantial law enforcement interests that they may be made on less than probable cause. Id. at 699, 101 S.Ct. 2587. After balancing the intrusion imposed by detaining the occupants of a residence subject to search pursuant to a lawful warrant against the law enforcement justifications for such detention, the Court concluded that this type of detention was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. The Court reasoned that the connection between an occupant and the home for which the search warrant was issued gives the police officer an easily identifiable and certain basis for determining that suspicion of criminal activity justifies a detention of that occupant. Id. at 703-04, 101 S.Ct. 2587. In Anderson v. United States, 107 F.Supp.2d 191 (E.D.N.Y.2000), upon which the deputies also rely, the court applied the Summers rule to permit the detention of the other occupants of a home during the execution of a valid arrest warrant for someone reasonably believed to be one of the home's residents. 4 16 Neither Summers nor Anderson helps the deputies here. In this case, the deputies had a warrant for the arrest of Freeman's son, Kevin, who resided at 16449 County Road 15. While Summers and Anderson would authorize the deputies to detain anyone found at that address during the execution of their arrest warrant for Kevin, nothing in either of those cases provides authority for the proposition that the deputies could detain Freeman outside of her own home, 16447 County Road 15, while they inquired about Kevin's whereabouts. Because Freeman was at her own home when she was detained, and because the deputies had no right to search Freeman's home based on their arrest warrant for Kevin, 5 the detention cannot be justified under Summers.
17 The deputies next argue that they were justified in detaining Freeman for violating Texas law. The deputies first assert that, because they simply detained Freeman and did not arrest her, they needed only a reasonable suspicion that she was violating the law. The district court rejected this argument because it found that, viewing the facts in the light most favorable to Freeman, the deputies arrested her, rather than merely detaining her. We agree. 18 Police detention constitutes an arrest, such that it must be accompanied by probable cause, if a reasonable person in the suspect's position would understand the situation to be a restraint on freedom of the kind that the law typically associates with a formal arrest. See United States v. Corral-Franco, 848 F.2d 536, 540-41 (5th Cir.1988); United States v. Bengivenga, 845 F.2d 593, 596-97 (5th Cir.1988) (en banc). In this case, viewing the summary judgment evidence in the light most favorable to Freeman, a reasonable person in her position would believe that her freedom was restrained to a degree typically associated with arrest. The district court found that Gore threatened Freeman with arrest if she did not permit the deputies to search her home; that Freeman responded by saying something to the effect of, Have at it; that Gore then instructed Freeman to place her hands behind her back; and that Freeman was then handcuffed and placed in the back of the police car. In addition, Freeman alleges that she was left in the car for some 30 to 45 minutes. On these facts, a reasonable person in Freeman's situation would surely believe that she had been restrained to an extent that normally accompanies a formal arrest.
19 The deputies argue that, even if Freeman was arrested, they had probable cause to arrest her for both Interference with Public Duties, Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 38.15, and Hindering Apprehension, Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 38.05. Probable cause exists where the facts and circumstances within the officer's knowledge at the time of the arrest `are sufficient for a reasonable person to conclude that the suspect had committed or was committing an offense.' Flores, 381 F.3d at 402 (quoting United States v. Levine, 80 F.3d 129, 132 (5th Cir.1996)).
20 Texas Penal Code Ann. § 38.15, Interference with Public Duties, provides that a person commits an offense if she interrupts, disrupts, impedes, or otherwise interferes with: (1) a peace officer while the peace officer is performing a duty or exercising authority imposed or granted by law. The statute contains an express defense to prosecution, however, if the interruption, disruption, impediment, or interference alleged consisted of speech only. Id. 21 The deputies argue that Freeman's conduct upon emerging from her home—yelling and screaming at the deputies—created probable cause to arrest her for Interference with Public Duties because she was interfering with their ability to investigate the whereabouts of her son, Kevin. The district court rejected the deputies' argument. It found that Freeman only interfered with the deputies' attempt to conduct an unlawful, warrantless search of her home, not with the deputies' general ability to investigate Kevin's whereabouts. Because the deputies were not granted the authority by law to conduct a warrantless search of Freeman's home, the court held that a reasonable officer could not conclude that Freeman was committing the offense of Interference with Public Duties. 22 Viewing the facts in Freeman's favor, her allegedly disruptive conduct was essentially limited to insisting that the deputies could not enter her home unless they had a search warrant. Had Deputy Gore not told Freeman that he did not need a warrant to search her home and that he could arrest her if she did not permit them to search the home, it is not at all clear that Freeman would have disrupted the deputies' broader investigation. Although the probable cause inquiry is an objective one, it must nevertheless be conducted in light of the actual facts known to the officer at the time of the arrest. See Devenpeck, 543 U.S. at 152, 125 S.Ct. 588 (Whether probable cause exists depends upon the reasonable conclusion to be drawn from the facts known to the arresting officer at the time of the arrest.). Here, at the time of Freeman's arrest, the deputies knew that Freeman would not consent to a search of her home without a warrant; that they did not have a warrant to search Freeman's home; and that Freeman's son Kevin resided not in Freeman's home, but in the mobile home next door. On those facts, a reasonable officer would have known that he could not lawfully search Freeman's home, 6 and Freeman was not, therefore, interfering with the exercise of any authority granted to the deputies by law. 23 Moreover, the deputies did not have probable cause to arrest Freeman because her conduct consisted exclusively of speech. Texas courts have recognized that merely arguing with police officers about the propriety of their conduct, including about whether they have the legal authority to conduct a search, falls within the speech exception to section 38.15. In Carney v. State, 31 S.W.3d 392, 394, 398 (Tex. Ct.App.2000), the court reversed a defendant's conviction for Interference with Public Duties where the defendant's conduct consisted solely of arguing with officers over validity of a search warrant, which resulted in delaying the officers' entry into the home. After noting that the defendant had not made physical contact with any of the officers or physically obstructed their entry into the home, the court concluded that the evidence could not support a conviction because [u]nder section 38.15, arguing with the officers does not constitute an actionable offense. Id. at 398. As in Carney, Freeman's conduct here consisted only of arguing with the deputies about whether they had the right to search her home. Although Freeman was, in the district court's words, yelling and screaming, that alone does not take her conduct out of the realm of speech, 7 and, viewing the district court's summary judgment facts in the light most favorable to Freeman, there is nothing to indicate that her conduct involved anything other than speech or that she physically obstructed the deputies in any way. Accordingly, the deputies did not have probable cause to arrest Freeman for Interference with Public Duties.
24 Texas Penal Code Annotated section 38.05(a), Hindering Apprehension, provides: 25 A person commits an offense if, with intent to hinder the arrest, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for an offense or, with intent to hinder the arrest, detention, adjudication, or disposition of a child for engaging in delinquent conduct that violates a penal law of the state, or with intent to hinder the arrest of another under the authority of a warrant or capias, he: (1) harbors or conceals the other; 26 (2) provides or aids in providing the other with any means of avoiding arrest or effecting escape; or 27 (3) warns the other of impending discovery or apprehension. 28 The deputies argue that probable cause existed to arrest Freeman for Hindering Apprehension because a reasonable person could have concluded that Freeman's actions were intended to alert Kevin to impending discovery and that she refused to consent to a search of her home in order to conceal her son's whereabouts. 29 We conclude that the deputies did not have probable cause to arrest Freeman for Hindering Apprehension. The deputies' first argument—that Freeman could have been trying to alert Kevin to the presence of the police—simply rings hollow. Before Freeman emerged from her house, the officers had already knocked on Kevin's mobile home door, called Kevin's telephone, and talked to Sheila, who was inside Freeman's house, on Kevin's cordless phone about his whereabouts. If Kevin had been inside Freeman's house at the time, he surely would have been aware that the police were present. Under these circumstances, it is implausible to suggest that a reasonable officer would think that Freeman exited the house and yelled at the deputies in order to inform someone back inside the house that the police were present. 30 Moreover, Freeman's refusal to consent to a warrantless search of her home cannot itself provide probable cause to arrest her for hindering apprehension. See Fletcher v. Town of Clinton, 196 F.3d 41, 54 (1st Cir.1999) (noting that refusal to consent to warrantless search cannot justify arrest for hindering apprehension); see also 1 Wayne R. LaFave, Substantive Criminal Law § 3.5(d), at 235 (2d ed. 2003) ([T]he failure to permit another to intrude upon your constitutional right against unreasonable searches may not be made criminal.). Accordingly, the deputies did not have probable cause to arrest Freeman for Hindering Apprehension on the summary judgment facts found by the district court.