Opinion ID: 781653
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: DeShaney and the Question of State Culpability

Text: 23 Even if there were sufficient state action here, the Bukowskis' claim still must fail. For in addition to showing the requisite state action, the Bukowskis must show the requisite state culpability necessary for a Due Process Clause action. See Ewolski, 287 F.3d at 510 (noting that it is not sufficient that the plaintiffs show a causal connection between state action and an act of private violence, but that they also must demonstrate that the state acted with the requisite culpability to establish a substantive due process violation). 24 Plaintiffs alleging due-process violations generally must show that the challenged action was so `egregious' that it can be said to be `arbitrary in the constitutional sense.' Id. (citation omitted). This standard, however, is `no calibrated yard stick.' Id. (citation omitted). In the custodial context, we have required plaintiffs to make a showing of deliberate indifference. See Stemler, 126 F.3d at 870. We initially speculated in Stemler as to whether even deliberate indifference by state actors could give rise to a substantive due process claim by a plaintiff who was not in the custody of the state. Id. at 869. After reviewing the Supreme Court's decision in County of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833, 118 S.Ct. 1708, 140 L.Ed.2d 1043 (1998), however, we have come to view the justification for a heightened standard in noncustodial cases as coming from the fact that the reasoning in noncustodial situations is often, by necessity, rushed. Ewolski, 287 F.3d at 511 n. 5. The guiding principle seems to be that a deliberate-indifference standard is appropriate in settings [that] provide the opportunity for reflection and unhurried judgments, but that a higher bar may be necessary when opportunities for reasoned deliberation are not present. Id.; see also Claybrook v. Birchwell, 199 F.3d 350, 359 (6th Cir.2000) (holding that an injured bystander in a police shootout must prove not just deliberate indifference on the part of the police officers but must also show that they acted maliciously and sadistically for the very purpose of causing harm). 25 For the case at bar, a deliberate-indifference standard is clearly the appropriate one, given the fact that the defendants not only had time to deliberate on what to do with Bukowski but actually did deliberate on this point. The plaintiffs here, however, cannot meet that standard. We have interpreted deliberate indifference, in this context, as being similar to subjective recklessness. Sperle v. Michigan Dep't of Corr., 297 F.3d 483, 493 (6th Cir.2002) (citing Ewolski, 287 F.3d at 509). Pursuant to this definition, the official must be aware of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and he must also draw the inference. Id. (quoting Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 837, 114 S.Ct. 1970, 128 L.Ed.2d 811 (1994)). Subjective recklessness can, however, be proven circumstantially by evidence showing that the risk was so obvious that the official had to have known about it. Ewolski, 287 F.3d at 513 n. 7. 26 Under this standard and under the facts as the Bukowskis allege them, the officials could not be considered deliberately indifferent to Lisa Bukowski's needs. Urbank and Summers did know that Bukowski was a nineteen-year-old mentally disabled woman who had traveled hundreds of miles to meet a man she had met on the Internet. They were ignorant, however, of many facts that are apparent now only in hindsight. They did not have any knowledge that Hall was dangerous or that he had earlier raped Bukowski. Nor, contrary to the plaintiffs' claims, did they have significant reason to believe that he was dangerous. Bukowski, both in conversation and in demeanor, gave Urbank and Summers no reason to believe that she needed to be detained for her own safety. From the moment she arrived, Bukowski spoke of Hall as her boyfriend. While this suggested some kind of romantic relationship, nothing about it suggested anything non-consensual or violent. In fact, it suggested that Bukowski was safe with Hall, which was consistent with her comments that it was not Hall, but her parents, that were abusive. Bukowski asked permission to call Hall — not her parents — and repeatedly insisted on being returned to his residence. Bukowski also never mentioned that Hall was twenty years older than she was. 27 Moreover, Urbank's knowledge of the extent of Bukowski's disability appears to have been quite limited. Urbank clearly recognized that she was a bit slow and that she had a learning disability. But Urbank also knew that she had managed to travel several hundred miles by herself, taking a series of cabs and buses, to reach Hall. Urbank knew that she had to be at least somewhat skilled with money to be able to pay for those transportation services, and he also knew from the fact that she and Hall met over the Internet that she was able to type and was at least moderately skilled with a computer. 28 Urbank clearly attempted to gauge Bukowski's level of functioning and the threats to her safety by analyzing her past actions, her current demeanor, and her account of the facts. Urbank personally interviewed Bukowski and then sent her to meet (for roughly two hours) with a representative from the Victim's Assistance Office. Operating with the facts that Bukowski gave them and with the facts they could infer from meeting her, Urbank and Summers would not have been aware of the facts from which it could be deduced that a substantial risk of serious harm existed. Nor was such harm so obvious that Urbank and Summers could be presumed to have consciously known about it. In these circumstances, Bukowski cannot make out this element of her due-process claim. 29