Opinion ID: 2998379
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Warrant Claim

Text: We review rulings on motions for summary judgment de novo. Bell v. Duperrault, 367 F.3d 703, 707 (7th Cir. 2004). It is undisputed in this case that in 2002 the Joneses had a right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and had a right to be the subject of a warrant only when the warrant was supported by probable cause and particularly described the place and people to be searched. 10 Nos. 04-1261 & 04-1605 U.S. CONST. Amend. IV (“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause . . . particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”). The focus of this appeal, therefore, is whether the actions as alleged by the Joneses constitute a violation of their clearly established rights. In evaluating an alleged violation of the Warrant Clause of the Fourth Amendment, it is helpful to distinguish between the two distinct phases of a search warrant: the issuance of the search warrant and the execution of the search warrant. As to the issuance of a search warrant, the Fourth Amendment requires that a warrant be supported by probable cause and particularly describes the place to be searched. Before an officer may undertake a search, the Fourth Amendment “require[s] the judgment of a magistrate on the probable-cause issue and the issuance of a warrant.” Chambers v. Mahoney, 399 U.S. 42, 51 (1970); see also Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 239 (1983) (“Sufficient information must be presented to the magistrate to allow that official to determine probable cause; his action cannot be a mere ratification of the bare conclusions of others.”). While magistrates do not possess sole discretion to make probable-cause determinations, “[o]nly in exigent circumstances will the judgment of the police as to probable cause serve as a sufficient authorization for a search.” Id. In addition, “[t]he Warrant Clause of the Fourth Amendment categorically prohibits the issuance of any warrant except one ‘particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.’ ” Maryland v. Garrison, 480 U.S. 79, 84 (1987); Jacobs, 215 F.3d at 767. “The uniformly applied rule is that a search conducted pursuant to a warrant that fails to conform to the particularity requirement of the Fourth Amendment is unconstituNos. 04-1261 & 04-1605 11 tional.” Massachusetts v. Sheppard, 468 U.S. 981, 988 n. 5 (1984). Absent exigent circumstances, nothing—neither the determination of probable cause nor the confirmation that a warrant is sufficiently particular—is meant to be left to the discretion of police officers executing a warrant. United States v. Brown, 832 F.2d 991, 996 (7th Cir. 1987) (citing Stanford v. Texas, 379 U.S. 476, 485 (1965)). Here, we find that the warrant was valid when it was issued despite the lack of diligence displayed by the police force in failing to ensure that Gruenwald-Anderson’s name and apartment number appeared on the warrant and despite the fact that the scope of the warrant turned out to be ambiguous. See Garrison, 480 U.S. at 85-86 (finding warrant valid when issued despite the fact that the scope of the warrant turned out to be ambiguous); U.S. v. White, 416 F.3d 634, 638 (7th Cir. 2005) (finding a search warrant described with sufficient particularity the premises to be searched where the police conducted a reasonable investigation, which did not suggest that the house actually contained more than one unit, notwithstanding that ultimately the house targeted was not a single family residence as described in the warrant but actually a multi-unit, multi-purpose building). Turning then to the execution of the warrant, we find that Wilhelm’s conduct in executing the warrant violated the Joneses’ clearly established Fourth Amendment rights. The warrant here instructed officers to search “the upstairs apartment on the right” at 220 W. Burnett Avenue. It is undisputed that, upon being assigned to execute the search warrant, Wilhelm recognized the address from his earlier surveillance and knew immediately that the building contained two staircases. (Appellant Opening Br. at 12-13; Appellant Reply Br. at 3.) Based on this prior knowledge, Wilhelm knew that if he took the back staircase, then the “upstairs apartment on the right” would lead him to the Joneses’ apartment, and, in the alternative, if he took the 12 Nos. 04-1261 & 04-1605 front staircase, then the warrant would lead him to Gruenwald-Anderson’s apartment. Id. By his own admission, therefore, Wilhelm knew before he executed the warrant that the phrase “upstairs apartment on the right” would lead him to a different apartment depending on which staircase taken. Where a warrant is open to more than one interpretation, the warrant is ambiguous and invalid on its face and, therefore, cannot be legally executed by a person who knows the warrant to be ambiguous. Garrison, 480 U.S. at 86-87. We must emphasize that the Joneses’ clearly-established rights were not violated because the warrant turned out to be ambiguous. Rather, the Joneses’ rights were violated because Wilhelm knew the warrant did not particularly describe the place to be searched based on his prior surveillance of the building.1 Wilhelm recognized the warrant as ambiguous before the execution of the warrant, but failed to immediately stop execution and seek the necessary clarification of a warrant in order to make certain the warrant particularly described the place to be search as 1 The dissent acknowledges that Wilhelm was aware of the layout of the building and allegations of illegal drug activity on its second floor prior to executing the warrant. The dissent also acknowledges that Wilhelm targeted “the Joneses’ apartment based on his own observations of traffic in and out of the building followed by activity in plaintiffs’ apartment.” Despite these acknowledgments, the dissent concludes that “[f]rom Wilhelm’s perspective, the warrant was not ambiguous.” If Wilhelm knew the layout of the building, then he had to recognize that the warrant’s direction to search the “upstairs apartment on the right” was ambiguous immediately upon reading the warrant. In other words, to acknowledge that Wilhelm used his beliefs to determine the target of the warrant is to acknowledge that the warrant was ambiguous on its face. Otherwise, if the warrant specifically targeted the Joneses’ apartment, then Wilhelm would have no need to leverage his personal observations. Nos. 04-1261 & 04-1605 13 called for by the Fourth Amendment. Garrison, 480 U.S. at 87 (forbidding the execution of a search warrant a police officer knows to be ambiguous). In this situation, the Fourth Amendment prohibits Wilhelm from applying his earlier surveillance and subsequent deductions to resolve the warrant’s ambiguity rather than presenting those observations to a magistrate for determination.2 It is undisputed that based on observations Wilhelm made during his surveillance of 220 W. Burnett Avenue, he concluded that Detective Finch’s informant was more likely to have used the rear door and thus to have described apartment #1, not apartment #2, as being “on the right.” This determination of which apartment was more likely to contain contraband, thereby meriting a constitutionally acceptable search, constitutes an evaluation of probable cause that the Fourth Amendment requires be left to the magistrate absent exigent circumstances. Chambers, 399 U.S. at 51.
We recognize that an erroneous description in a warrant does not necessarily invalidate the subsequent execution of a warrant search. See, e.g., U.S. v. Stefonek, 179 F.3d 1030, 1033 (7th Cir. 1999) (finding that the failure of a search 2 The dissent allows Wilhelm the discretion to use his prior surveillance in order to determine the proper target for the execution of the warrant, concluding that Wilhelm had a goodfaith basis to target the Joneses’ apartment. Nothing in the precedent of the Supreme Court or this circuit, however, affords an officer any discretion to interpret a warrant. Clearly established federal law states that, absent exigent circumstances, nothing is meant to be left to the discretion of police officers executing a warrant. Brown, 832 F.2d at 996 (citing Stanford v. Texas, 379 U.S. 476, 485 (1965)). 14 Nos. 04-1261 & 04-1605 warrant to particularly describe things to be seized, in violation of the Fourth Amendment, did not require suppression of evidence seized where the search conformed to the particular description contained in the affidavit). Even if a warrant is ultimately found to be unsupported by probable cause or lacking in particularity, searches conducted pursuant to the warrant may be valid under the good-faith exception set forth in United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 926 (1984). For a warrant search to qualify for the good-faith exception, however, the officers conducting the search must have manifested an objective good-faith belief in the validity of the warrant. Leon, 468 U.S. at 926. Execution of search warrants, therefore, should be examined in light of “the need to allow some latitude for honest mistakes that are made by officers in [this] dangerous and difficult process.” Garrison, 480 U.S. at 87. Wilhelm had prior knowledge of the building’s layout before executing the warrant. As a result, he does not qualify for any good-faith exception. Where an officer executing a warrant knows or should have known that a warrant, which was valid when issued, now lacks the necessary particularity, then that officer cannot legally execute the warrant.3 Id. at 86. Furthermore, if an officer obtains information while executing a warrant that puts him on notice of a risk that he could be targeting the wrong location, then the officer must terminate his search. Id. at 87; Jacobs, 215 F.3d at 769 (holding that while executing a 3 As we discussed, Wilhelm knew from his prior surveillance that the warrant was not sufficiently particular to target the Joneses’ apartment, and, therefore, he could not lawfully execute the warrant there. Yet the dissent reasons that it was Wilhelm’s prior surveillance that provided him with a good-faith basis to target the Joneses’ apartment. His prior surveillance, however, is the precise reason he lacks good faith—Wilhelm knew from his prior observations that the warrant on its face was ambiguous. Nos. 04-1261 & 04-1605 15 warrant, “[a]t the moment the Defendant Officers discovered the defect in the description of the place to be searched, they were obligated to cease that search if they could not determine which apartment was properly the subject of the warrant.”). In support of his contention that his actions in executing the warrant did not constitute a violation of the Joneses’ clearly established rights, Wilhelm cites the Fourth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Owens, 848 F.2d 462, 463 (4th Cir. 1988) for the proposition that a reasonable officer may augment a warrant with his own personal knowledge in order to resolve an ambiguity. In Owens, officers acted upon a warrant authorizing them to search an occupied apartment on the third floor of a named building, only to discover that there were two separate apartments on that floor. Owens, 848 F.2d at 465. As one of the apartments was vacant, however, they searched the other one, noting the affidavit’s description of an occupied apartment. Id. at 463, 465. While officers executing a warrant must generally suspend their search if they discover information that renders the warrant ambiguous, Garrison, 480 U.S. at 87, the Fourth Circuit upheld the officers’ actions in Owens, as the affidavit supporting the warrant clearly identified the apartment to be searched as one that was occupied, and no other apartment fit that description. Owens, 848 F.2d at 465. In this case, Wilhelm knew before he began executing the warrant that the warrant was ambiguous on its face. In addition, there is no evidence in this case that the affidavit in support of the warrant targeted the Joneses’ apartment. Instead, the evidence establishes that the description given in both the warrant and the affidavit fit the description of two separate apartments. Therefore, Owens does not apply to this case because the key facts in Owens were that the affidavit supporting the warrant specifically targeted an 16 Nos. 04-1261 & 04-1605 occupied apartment, and no other apartment fit the description given in the affidavit. Here, a reasonable officer possessing the knowledge Wilhelm possessed would have discovered the fatal defect in the warrant prior to arrival to the building. Even without Wilhelm’s specialized knowledge, a reasonable officer would have discovered the fatal defect in the warrant upon entering the building and discovering two sets of staircases facing opposite directions. In light of this, we cannot conclude that the search was a valid execution of that warrant as neither the warrant nor the affidavit in support of the warrant targeted the Joneses’ apartment. See Jacobs, 215 F.3d at 769 (finding that, where the search of the plaintiffs’ apartment occurred after it appeared from the allegations in the complaint that a reasonable officer would have discovered a fatal defect in the warrant, the search was not a valid execution of that warrant). In order to target the Joneses’ apartment, Wilhelm circumvented the proper procedural safeguards and acted as his own magistrate to issue his own personal amended warrant by applying knowledge he had gained before that night to resolve the warrant’s ambiguity. For all the reasons discussed, we find that the undisputed facts of this case establish that Wilhelm’s actions violated the Joneses’ clearly established rights because he (1) executed a validly issued warrant he knew to be facially ambiguous prior to the execution of the warrant; and (2) circumvented the magistrate judge and resolved the war- rant’s ambiguity based on information he should have disclosed to the magistrate who issued the warrant. Since Wilhelm’s undisputed actions represent a viola- tion of clearly-established, constitutional rights, we find that Wilhelm enjoys no qualified immunity as to the Joneses’ warrant claim. Nos. 04-1261 & 04-1605 17
of the Joneses is appropriate. Having determined that Wilhelm is not entitled to qualified immunity, we now turn to the district court’s denial of the Joneses’ motion for summary judgment on their warrant claim. To state a claim for relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Joneses must allege: (1) they were deprived of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, and (2) the deprivation was visited upon them by a person or persons acting under color of state law. Kramer v. Village of North Fond du Lac, 384 F.3d 856, 861 (7th Cir. 2004) (citations omitted). As the second element is undisputed, the question is whether the Joneses have produced evidence such that a reasonable jury could find that Wilhelm deprived them of a right secured by the Constitution or federal law. In analyzing whether a question of fact exists, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255 (1986). The mere existence of some factual dispute does not defeat a summary judgment motion, however; there must be a genuine issue of material fact for the case to survive. Id. at 247-48. Reviewing the facts in the light most favorable to Wilhelm, we find that there are no genuine issues as to any material fact and that the Joneses are entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Notwithstanding the disputed issues of fact concerning both Wilhelm’s knowledge of 220 W. Burnett Avenue and his actions during the execution of the flawed search warrant, Wilhelm’s actions prior to the execution of the warrant are undisputed and provide a sufficient basis to grant summary judgment. Prior to the execution of the warrant, the key facts in this case are: Wilhelm undertook surveillance and gained knowledge of 220 W. Burnett Avenue independent from the issuance of the search warrant; and, upon receipt of the 18 Nos. 04-1261 & 04-1605 search warrant to execute, Wilhelm recognized the address and immediately realized the warrant to be ambiguous on its face. Both of these facts are undisputed in the record. Wilhelm’s decision then to proceed with the execution of a search warrant he knew to be ambiguous violated the Joneses’ Fourth Amendment rights. Garrison, 480 U.S. at 89 (holding that officers cannot legally execute a warrant they know to be ambiguous). Furthermore, where Wilhelm made his own probable cause determination to resolve the warrant’s ambiguity, Wilhelm also deprived the Joneses of a right secured by the Constitution. Chambers, 399 U.S. at 51. It follows, therefore, that the factual disputes, argued at length by both sides, regarding the full extent of Wilhelm’s knowledge as a result of his surveillance and regarding the reasonableness of Wilhelm’s actions while executing the search warrant are not material. The pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with any affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue of fact regarding Wilhelm’s deprivation of the Joneses’ rights as secured by the Constitution or Wilhelm’s status as a person acting under color of state law. We, therefore, grant summary judgment on the warrant claim in favor of the Joneses.