Opinion ID: 4549553
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Search Claims

Text: In this part, we discuss (1) the Fourth Amendment injunctive relief claim against the official-capacity defendants; and (2) the Fourth Amendment Bivens claim against the Agent Defendants. A. Fourth Amendment Injunctive Relief Claim Against the Official-Capacity Defendants The Government’s primary argument for dismissal of the constitutional claims brought against the official-capacity defendants, including the Fourth Amendment claim, is that the injunctive relief sought—the expungement of all records unconstitutionally obtained and maintained—is unavailable under the Constitution. Not so. We have repeatedly and consistently recognized that federal courts can order expungement of records, criminal 78 FAZAGA V. WALLS and otherwise, to vindicate constitutional rights.32 The Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, which (1) establishes a set of practices governing the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of information about individuals maintained in records systems by federal agencies, and (2) creates federal claims for relief for violations of the Act’s substantive provisions, does not displace the availability of expungement relief under the Constitution.33 Previous cases involving 32 See, e.g., United States v. Sumner, 226 F.3d 1005, 1012 (9th Cir. 2000) (“A district court has the power to expunge a criminal record under . . . the Constitution itself.”); Burnsworth v. Gunderson, 179 F.3d 771, 775 (9th Cir. 1999) (holding that expungement of an escape conviction from prison records was an appropriate remedy for a due process violation); Norman-Bloodsaw v. Lawrence Berkeley Lab., 135 F.3d 1260, 1275 (9th Cir. 1998) (explaining that expungement of unconstitutionally obtained medical records “would be an appropriate remedy for the alleged violation”); United States v. Smith, 940 F.2d 395, 396 (9th Cir. 1991) (per curiam) (explaining that “recognized circumstances supporting expunction” include an unlawful or invalid arrest or conviction and government misconduct); Fendler v. U.S. Parole Comm’n, 774 F.2d 975, 979 (9th Cir. 1985) (“Federal courts have the equitable power ‘to order the expungement of Government records where necessary to vindicate rights secured by the Constitution or by statute.’” (quoting Chastain v. Kelley, 510 F.2d 1232, 1235 (D.C. Cir. 1975))); Maurer v. Pitchess, 691 F.2d 434, 437 (9th Cir. 1982) (“It is well settled that the federal courts have inherent equitable power to order ‘the expungement of local arrest records as an appropriate remedy in the wake of police action in violation of constitutional rights.’” (quoting Sullivan v. Murphy, 478 F.2d 938, 968 (D.C. Cir. 1973))); Shipp v. Todd, 568 F.2d 133, 134 (9th Cir. 1978) (“It is established that the federal courts have inherent power to expunge criminal records when necessary to preserve basic legal rights.” (quoting United States v. McMains, 540 F.2d 387, 389 (8th Cir. 1976))). 33 The cases cited by the Government to the contrary are inapposite. See City of Milwaukee, 451 U.S. at 314–16 (addressing the congressional displacement of federal common law through legislation, not the elimination of injunctive remedies available under the Constitution); Bush FAZAGA V. WALLS 79 claims brought under both the Privacy Act and the Constitution did not treat the Privacy Act as displacing a constitutional claim, but instead analyzed the claims separately.34 And the circuits that have directly considered whether the Privacy Act displaces parallel constitutional remedies have all concluded that a plaintiff may pursue a remedy under both the Constitution and the Privacy Act.35 In addition to its Privacy Act displacement theory, the Government contends that even if expungement relief is otherwise available under the Constitution, it is not available v. Lucas, 462 U.S. 367, 386–88 (1983) (discussing preclusion of a Bivens claim for damages where Congress had already designed a comprehensive remedial scheme, not whether a statute can displace a recognized constitutional claim for injunctive relief); Ctr. for Nat’l Sec. Studies v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 331 F.3d 918, 936–37 (D.C. Cir. 2003) (discussing the displacement of a common law right of access to public records by the Freedom of Information Act in a case not involving the Privacy Act or a claim for injunctive relief from an alleged ongoing constitutional violation). 34 See Hewitt v. Grabicki, 794 F.2d 1373, 1377, 1380 (9th Cir. 1986) (addressing separately a claim for damages under the Privacy Act and a procedural due process claim); Fendler, 774 F.2d at 979 (considering a prisoner’s Privacy Act claims and then, separately, his claim for expungement relief under the Constitution). 35 See Abdelfattah v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., 787 F.3d 524, 534 (D.C. Cir. 2015) (“We have repeatedly recognized a plaintiff may request expungement of agency records for both violations of the Privacy Act and the Constitution.”); Clarkson v. IRS, 678 F.2d 1368, 1376 n.13 (11th Cir. 1982) (“[W]e of course do not intend to suggest that the enactment of the Privacy Act in any way precludes a plaintiff from asserting a constitutional claim for violation of his privacy or First Amendment rights. Indeed, several courts have recognized that a plaintiff is free to assert both Privacy Act and constitutional claims.”). 80 FAZAGA V. WALLS here, as Plaintiffs “advance no plausible claim of an ongoing constitutional violation.” Again, we disagree. This court has been clear that a determination that records were obtained and retained in violation of the Constitution supports a claim for expungement relief of existing records so obtained. As Norman-Bloodsaw explained: Even if the continued storage, against plaintiffs’ wishes, of intimate medical information that was allegedly taken from them by unconstitutional means does not itself constitute a violation of law, it is clearly an ongoing “effect” of the allegedly unconstitutional and discriminatory testing, and expungement of the test results would be an appropriate remedy for the alleged violation. . . . At the very least, the retention of undisputedly intimate medical information obtained in an unconstitutional and discriminatory manner would constitute a continuing “irreparable injury” for purposes of equitable relief. 135 F.3d at 1275; see also Wilson v. Webster, 467 F.2d 1282, 1283–84 (9th Cir. 1972) (holding that plaintiffs had a right to show that records of unlawful arrests “should be expunged, for their continued existence may seriously and unjustifiably serve to impair fundamental rights of the persons to whom they relate”). FAZAGA V. WALLS 81 In short, expungement relief is available under the Constitution to remedy the alleged constitutional violations.36 Because the Government raises no other argument for dismissal of the Fourth Amendment injunctive relief claim, it should not have been dismissed. B. Fourth Amendment Bivens Claim Against the Agent Defendants Alleging that the Agent Defendants violated the Fourth Amendment, Plaintiffs seek monetary damages directly under the Constitution under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). In Bivens, the Supreme Court “recognized for the first time an implied private action for damages against federal officers alleged to have violated a citizen’s constitutional rights.” Corr. Servs. Corp. v. Malesko, 534 U.S. 61, 66 (2001). “The purpose of Bivens is to deter individual federal officers from committing constitutional violations.” Id. at 70. Bivens itself concerned a Fourth Amendment violation by federal officers. As we have recognized, a Fourth Amendment damages claim premised on unauthorized electronic surveillance by FBI agents and their surrogates “fall[s] directly within the coverage of Bivens.” Gibson v. United States, 781 F.2d 1334, 1341 (9th Cir. 1986); see also Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 513 (1985) (considering, under Bivens, an alleged “warrantless wiretap” conducted in violation of the Fourth Amendment). Recent cases, however, have severely restricted the availability of Bivens actions for 36 We do not at this stage, of course, address whether Plaintiffs are actually entitled to such a remedy. 82 FAZAGA V. WALLS new claims and contexts. See Ziglar v. Abbasi, 137 S.Ct. 1843, 1856–57 (2017).37 Here, the substance of Plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment Bivens claim is identical to the allegations raised in their FISA § 1810 claim. Under our rulings regarding the reach of the § 1806(f) procedures, almost all of the search-and-seizure allegations will be subject to those procedures. Thus, regardless of whether a Bivens remedy is available, Plaintiffs’ underlying claim—that the Agent Defendants engaged in unlawful electronic surveillance violative of the Fourth Amendment—would proceed in the same way. Moreover, if the Fourth Amendment Bivens claim proceeds, the Agent Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity on Plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment Bivens claim to the same extent they are entitled to qualified immunity on Plaintiffs’ FISA claim. In both instances, the substantive law derives from the Fourth Amendment, and in both instances, government officials in their individual capacity are subject to liability for damages only if they violated a clearly established right to freedom from governmental intrusion where an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy. See supra Part I.B. Under our earlier rulings, the FISA search-and-seizure allegations may proceed against only two of the Agent Defendants, and only with respect to a narrow aspect of the alleged surveillance. In light of the overlap between the Bivens claim and the narrow range of the remaining FISA claim against the Agent Defendants that can proceed, it is far from clear that Plaintiffs 37 The parties have not briefed before us the impact of Abbasi on the Bivens claims. FAZAGA V. WALLS 83 will continue to press this claim. We therefore decline to address whether Plaintiffs’ Bivens claim remains available after the Supreme Court’s decision in Abbasi. On remand, the district court may determine—if necessary—whether a Bivens remedy is appropriate for any Fourth Amendment claim against the Agent Defendants.