Opinion ID: 793418
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Seizure of Tina Cortez

Text: 27 We now turn to the treatment of Tina Cortez. Taking the Plaintiffs' allegations as true, and viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Plaintiffs, it appears that Tina Cortez (1) was ordered out of her house by the officers; (2) returned to her bedroom (though it is unclear whether she did so after exiting the house in response to the officers' orders, or without exiting the house); (3) was physically separated from her telephone by an officer illuminating the bedroom with a flashlight; (4) was taken by the arm by the officer and escorted from her home; (5) was placed in the back seat of a locked squad car; and (6) was questioned by an officer while in the back seat of the locked squad car. While in the back seat of the locked squad car, Tina Cortez was allowed to use an officer's cell phone. Again we note that all this occurred after midnight. 28 The seizure of Tina Cortez was less intrusive than that of Rick Cortez to be sure. She was not advised of her Miranda rights, was not handcuffed, was allowed to use the officer's cell phone, generally seemed to be subjected to less force than Rick Cortez, and did not seem to be the object of the officers' primary suspicions. Again, whether the seizure of Tina Cortez should be characterized as an arrest or an investigative detention is a question for the jury. Although we make no determination as to the characterization of Tina Cortez's detention, we presently assume for the sake of argument that she was subjected to an investigative detention. Cf. Muehler v. Mena, 544 U.S. 93, 125 S.Ct. 1465, 1470-71, 161 L.Ed.2d 299 (2005)(making clear that detaining individuals under intrusive conditions does not automatically convert the detention to an arrest). 29 Therefore, assuming the seizure of Tina Cortez was an investigative detention, we again examine the officers' factual basis. As previously stated, an investigative detention must be based upon reasonable suspicion. The court views the totality of the circumstances to see whether the detaining officer had a particularized and objective basis for suspecting legal wrongdoing. United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266, 273, 122 S.Ct. 744, 151 L.Ed.2d 740 (2002). Just like her husband's seizure and detention, the seizure and detention of Tina Cortez was based on the allegations of the two-year-old girl. The alleged statement of the two-year-old child, however, alleged no wrongdoing as to Tina Cortez whatsoever. Furthermore, the statement did not indicate a likelihood that she would destroy material evidence. See Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692, 101 S.Ct. 2587, 69 L.Ed.2d 340 (1981). Therefore, we find that Tina Cortez has demonstrated that a clearly established constitutional right has been violated. Consequently, the Defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity as to her wrongful seizure claim, as the existence of neither reasonable suspicion nor arguable reasonable suspicion has been shown. 12