Opinion ID: 8598
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Extra-jurisdictional Character of the Investigation

Text: 40 Cantu also claims that the extra-jurisdictional character of the investigation violated her right to privacy. Cantu cites no authority for the proposition that there is a clearly established constitutional right to be free from an investigation conducted in the absence of jurisdiction. Cantu maintains, however, that she did not authorize the investigation, presumably attempting to invoke the autonomy, or personal decision prong of the privacy right. Privacy rights may well be implicated in a case involving an investigation conducted without jurisdiction and over the objection of a complainant whose veracity and credibility is not in issue. That is not the case here. Both Chief Raul Garza of the Edinburg police department and Chief Salazar were under the impression that Cantu wanted the assault investigated. Cantu voluntarily gave Chief Salazar the Planned Parenthood report as well as information about the alleged assault. We conclude that the investigation was not in violation of a clearly established privacy right. Moreover, even if we were to assume, arguendo, that Cantu had alleged violation of a clearly established right, Rocha and Salazar would still be entitled to immunity because the officers had an objectively reasonable basis for assuming jurisdiction. 41 Salazar's initial conclusion that jurisdiction existed was based on the fact that both of the individuals involved were students and that the incident occurred at a university function, in a hotel room leased with university funds. The reasonableness of his conclusion is attested to by the fact that the Edinburg Chief of Police, Raul Garza, also believed UT-PA would have jurisdiction. Rocha and Salazar also offer Texas Education Code § 51.203(a) and (b) which provide that university police officers have primary jurisdiction in all counties where property is owned, leased, rented, or otherwise under the control of the university. 42 South Padre Island, where Cantu says she was assaulted, is located in Cameron County. The UT-PA main campus is located in Hidalgo County. UT-PA has a marine laboratory in Cameron County and the University of Texas maintains a campus in Brownsville, which is also in Cameron County. Within an officer's primary jurisdiction, the officer is vested with all the powers, privileges, and immunities of peace officers, which include the power to arrest individuals for violation of state law and the power to enforce traffic laws. TEX.EDUC.CODE § 51.203(b) (Vernon Supp.1995). Cantu argues that the statute should be construed to limit the peace officer's primary jurisdiction to university property and offers letters in which UT-PA administrative officials concluded subsequent to the Rocha investigation that the UT-PA police department lacked jurisdiction. We need not decide that issue of Texas law, as Officers Rocha and Salazar had an objectively reasonable basis for proceeding with the investigation. 43 Cantu has no clearly established right to be free of an extra-jurisdictional investigation into a sexual assault when that investigation is launched by her own report of the relevant facts to authorities. Cantu neither implicitly nor explicitly requested that Salazar abstain from investigating. Nor has she demonstrated any harm arising out of the extra-jurisdictional nature of the investigation. Extra-jurisdictional investigations are not per se violative of the constitutional guarantee of privacy. Finally, Rocha and Salazar held an objectively reasonable belief that they were operating within the university's primary jurisdiction. Therefore, Officers Rocha and Salazar are entitled to qualified immunity on this claim.