Opinion ID: 1806358
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Wrongful Detention.

Text: ¶ 23. The parties differ slightly on the length of Williams' detention in the Lee County jail. The Sheriffs Department arrest record states that Williams was arrested at 3:00 P.M. on January 26 and that he was released at 11:35 AM on January 28. Witnesses for Williams claim that he was arrested at approximately 1:30 PM and released at 1:00 PM two days later. The disputed three hours are not significant. ¶ 24. While the fact that an innocent man spent two days in jail is regrettable and even deplorable, it does not amount to a constitutional deprivation. The Supreme Court has held that [t]he Constitution does not guarantee that only the guilty will be arrested, for [i]f it did § 1983 would provide a cause of action for every defendant acquitted-indeed, for every suspect released. Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 145, 99 S.Ct. 2689, 2695, 61 L.Ed.2d 433 (1979). ¶ 25. The Fifth Circuit recently decided a similar mistaken identification case. In Sanchez v. Swyden , Oscar F. Sanchez was detained by U.S. Customs agents after his name and general description matched those of a fugitive wanted in Tennessee. Sanchez, 139 F.3d at 465. There is no indication in the opinion whether the Customs agents actually received a copy of the fugitive warrant from Cheatham County, Tennessee, or whether they simply relied on the other information they received from Cheatham County officials. After being held for approximately 26 hours, Sanchez was released when a comparison between his fingerprints and those of the fugitive from Tennessee did not match. Id. at 466. The Fifth Circuit held that detaining Sanchez for 26 hours, based on a facially-valid fugitive warrant from another jurisdiction did not deprive Sanchez of a clearly established constitutional right. Id. at 468-69. ¶ 26. The Fifth Circuit based its opinion in Sanchez in part on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 99 S.Ct. 2689, 61 L.Ed.2d 433 (1979), in which the Supreme Court held that a three-day detention of an innocent man based on a facially valid arrest warrant did not amount to a constitutional violation. Id. In Baker, the innocent detainee was erroneously held on a warrant issued for his brother, who had used a duplicate of the detainee's driver's license and had posed as the detainee when facing a narcotics charges. Id., 443 U.S. at 140-141, 99 S.Ct. at 2693. The Court held that the three-day detention did not constitute a deprivation of a clearly established constitutional right. Id., 443 U.S. at 145, 99 S.Ct. at 2694. ¶ 27. Williams argues that the fact that he did not bear the identifying tattoos and scar of the true suspect warrants a finding of unlawful detention. McDonagh told Jones that the suspect had a rose tattoo on his inner left forearm, a star tattoo on the web area of his left hand, and a four-inch scar on his left wrist. Williams claims that the fact he was detained despite lacking those identifying marks amounts to a civil rights violation. The record reflects that the deputies did remove Williams' shirt during the arrest and did inspect him for tattoos. In her deposition, Jettie Williams, James' mother, testified that the deputies found a tattoo on Williams' body, but that it was a cross and not a rose. There was some confusion about whether the tattoos and scars matched the description given by McDonagh. But the fact that the deputies arguably might have determined at that point that Williams was not the man for whom they were looking is of no consequence. In Sanchez, the Customs agents received the true suspect's photographs and fingerprints shortly after Sanchez was detained. Sanchez, 139 F.3d at 465. The agents also had information that the true fugitive had a tattoo of a rose on his shoulder. Id. Despite this information, the wrong man was held for 26 hours. The Fifth Circuit held that possession of exculpatory information does not expose a defendant to liability if the continued detention was due to mere negligence. Id. at 469. The Constitution does not require law enforcement officials to conduct a virtually error-free investigation. Id. Williams has not shown that the failure to act on the exculpatory evidence amounted to anything more than simple negligence. Failing to release him based solely on potentially exculpatory information does not arise to an actionable deprivation of constitutional rights. ¶ 28. According to Baker and Sanchez, Williams' detention for approximately 48 hours, although distressing, does not amount to a constitutional deprivation.