Opinion ID: 778595
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Are Defendants Protected by Qualified Immunity?

Text: 16 Law enforcement officers are entitled to qualified immunity if they act reasonably under the circumstances, even if the actions result in a constitutional violation. 2 Wilson v. Layne, 526 U.S. 603, 614, 119 S.Ct. 1692, 143 L.Ed.2d 818 (1999); Marks v. Clarke, 102 F.3d 1012, 1026 (9th Cir.1996). What's reasonable for a particular officer depends on his role in the search. Because searches often require[] cooperation and division of labor, Guerra v. Sutton, 783 F.2d 1371, 1375 (9th Cir.1986), officers' roles can vary widely. Typically, only one or a few officers plan and lead a search, but more — perhaps many more — help execute it. The officers who lead the team that executes a warrant are responsible for ensuring that they have lawful authority for their actions. A key aspect of this responsibility is making sure that they have a proper warrant that in fact authorizes the search and seizure they are about to conduct. The leaders of the expedition may not simply assume that the warrant authorizes the search and seizure. Rather, they must actually read the warrant and satisfy themselves that they understand its scope and limitations, and that it is not defective in some obvious way. See United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 922-23, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984) (search pursuant to a warrant is invalid if no reasonable officer could have believed the warrant was valid). The leaders of the search team must also make sure that a copy of the warrant is available to give to the person whose property is being searched at the commencement of the search, 3 and that such copy has no missing pages or other obvious defects. 17 Line officers, on the other hand, are required to do much less. They do not have to actually read or even see the warrant; they may accept the word of their superiors that they have a warrant and that it is valid. Guerra, 783 F.2d at 1375; Marks, 102 F.3d at 1029-30. So long as they ma[k]e inquiry as to the nature and scope of [the] warrant, Guerra, 783 F.2d at 1375, their reliance on leaders' representations about it is reasonable. Id.; Marks, 102 F.3d at 1029-30. The line officers here acted reasonably: They were told that a warrant had been obtained and learned through an advance briefing what items could be seized. Guerra, 783 F.2d at 1375; Marks, 102 F.3d at 1030. Because they were not required to read the warrant, the line officers conducting this search cannot reasonably have been expected to know that it was defective. 18 The Ramirezes argue that none of the officers enjoy qualified immunity because, under McGrew, all of them — leaders and line officers alike — should have known that the defective warrant made the search illegal. McGrew, 122 F.3d at 850 n. 5. But McGrew said nothing about the different duties of leaders and line officers. We held only that [i]t is the government's duty, not the duty of any particular officer, to serve a sufficiently particular warrant. Id. at 850 (emphasis added). Because we were reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress, we had no occasion to address the allocation of responsibilities between leaders and the rank and file. 19 The record identifies only Groh as the leader of the search. He received two reports of illegal weapons, obtained and served the warrant, conducted the pre-search briefing and supervised the search itself. However, he neglected to check the warrant for errors. The presence of errors in a warrant does not automatically deprive search leaders of immunity. The question is whether the defects are such that they would have been noticed by a reasonably careful officer who read the warrant before executing it. Cf. Arnsberg v. United States, 757 F.2d 971, 981 (9th Cir.1985) (holding that a search conducted pursuant to a facially flawed warrant did not violate the Fourth Amendment because the discrepancy [was] not a serious one). Even the most careful proofreaders let mistakes slip by, especially when checking their own work. 20 Nevertheless, Groh is not entitled to qualified immunity. According to his own affidavit, he did not read the warrant after the magistrate issued it and before he began the search. Had he done so, he would surely have realized that it did not contain a list of items to be seized and was therefore facially defective. He would then have been able to correct the error before going forward with the search. In most cases, an officer cannot be expected to question the magistrate's... judgment that the form of the warrant is technically sufficient. Leon, 468 U.S. at 921. But the officer's reliance on [that judgment] must be objectively reasonable, and it is clear that in some circumstances the officer will have no reasonable grounds for believing that the warrant was properly issued. Id. at 922-23 (citation omitted). No reasonable grounds exist here: The warrant was so facially deficient ... in failing to particularize the place to be searched or the things to be seized that, had Groh read it, he could not reasonably [have] presume[d] it to be valid. Id. at 923. 21 It is possible that Groh shared authority over the search with other officers, such as Sheriff McPherson and Undersheriff Lee. However, nothing in the record indicates this was the case. Therefore, all officers except Groh are protected by qualified immunity. III 22 The Ramirezes also appeal the dismissal of their claim that the officers violated their right to privacy as protected by the Fifth and Ninth Amendments. This claim has two parts. First, the Ramirezes argue that the officers violated their right to privacy by notifying the media of the search immediately before it was executed. They claim that the resulting publicity damaged their standing in the community. 23 Although the Ramirezes present this claim as one for invasion of privacy, the circumstances of the search show that it is actually a defamation claim. Nothing in the record suggests that the media gained access to the Ramirez property. Whatever information the media obtained during the raid was gathered from the road adjacent to the ranch, where any member of the public could have observed the goings on. Cf. Hanlon v. Berger, 526 U.S. 808, 809-10, 119 S.Ct. 1706, 143 L.Ed.2d 978 (1999) (holding that police violated the Fourth Amendment by allowing a media crew to accompany them onto the premises and observe a search); Wilson, 526 U.S. at 614, 119 S.Ct. 1692, 143 L.Ed.2d 818 ([I]t is a violation of the Fourth Amendment for police to bring members of the media or other third parties into a home during the execution of a warrant....). Therefore, the only harm that the Ramirezes can show they have suffered is reputational injury, from which the Constitution offers no protection. Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U.S. 226, 233-34, 111 S.Ct. 1789, 114 L.Ed.2d 277 (1991). 24 The Ramirezes also argue that the search itself violated not only their right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, but also their right to privacy. [C]ertain wrongs affect more than a single right and, accordingly, can implicate more than one of the Constitution's commands. Armendariz v. Penman, 75 F.3d 1311, 1320 (9th Cir.1996). However, the Supreme Court has held that plaintiffs cannot double up constitutional claims in this way: Where a claim can be analyzed under an explicit textual source of rights in the Constitution, a court may not also assess the claim under another, more generalized, source. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 394-95, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989) (analyzing claim under Fourth Amendment but not under substantive due process); see also Hufford v. McEnaney, 249 F.3d 1142, 1151 (9th Cir. 2001) (analyzing claim under First Amendment but not under substantive due process); Armendariz, 75 F.3d at 1319 (analyzing claim under Fourth and Fifth Amendments but not under substantive due process). Here, because the Fourth Amendment supplies an explicit textual source of constitutional protection against unlawful searches, that Amendment, and not the more general right to privacy, governs the constitutionality of the search. IV 25 Finally, the Ramirezes appeal the dismissal of their claim that each of the officers is liable as a bystander for failing to intercede and prevent his co-defendants' constitutional violations. See United States v. Koon, 34 F.3d 1416, 1424-25 (9th Cir.1994), rev'd on other grounds, 518 U.S. 81, 116 S.Ct. 2035, 135 L.Ed.2d 392 (1996). The district court dismissed this claim on the basis of its holding that no constitutional violation existed. 26 As to the line officers, this claim is foreclosed by our ruling that they had no duty to read the warrant and therefore could not have known that the warrant was defective. They cannot therefore reasonably be held liable for failing to intercede. As to Groh, it is clear from the record that he was not aware that the warrant was defective until long after the search was completed, when he spoke to the Ramirezes' attorney. Groh cannot be held liable for failing to stop a search he did not know was illegal. 27 AFFIRMED in part and REVERSED in part. No costs.