Opinion ID: 3011331
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Constable Wolfgang

Text: Constable Wolfgang contends that he is entitled to qualified immunity from suit because he executed a facially valid warrant. Unless historical facts are in dispute, qualified immunity is a matter for the court. See id. at 828. The inquiry is an objective one; the arresting officer's subjective beliefs about the existence of probable cause are not relevant. See Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 641 (1987). In considering claims of qualified immunity, courts are sensitive to [t]he broad range of reasonable professional judgment accorded law enforcement officials in the S 1983 context. Greene v. Reeves , 80 F.3d 1101, 1107 (6th Cir. 1996). Thus, the qualified immunity doctrine `gives ample room for mistaken judgments' by protecting `all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.'  Orsatti, 71 F.3d at 484 (quoting Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 345 (1986)). 12 A government official is entitled to qualified immunity if his conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818 (1982). In the context of this case, the question is whether a reasonable officer could have believed that his or her conduct was lawful, in light of the clearly established law and the information in the officer's possession. Sharrar v. Felsing, 128 F.3d 810, 826 (3d Cir. 1997) (citing Hunter v. Bryant, 502 U.S. 224, 227 (1991) (per curiam); Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 641 (1987). Our inquiry, then, has two parts. Did Wolfgang's conduct violate clearly established law? If so, did he nevertheless reasonably believe that his conduct was lawful in light of the information he possessed at the time? At the time of Berg's arrest in 1994, it was clear that an arrest could be made only with probable cause. Although Rogers was decided in 1997, Whiteley clearly established in 1971 the conditions under which an arresting officer can obtain probable cause from a warrant. As we have already noted, the warrant at issue in this case did not provide probable cause to arrest Berg. Therefore, we must consider whether a reasonable constable in Wolfgang's position could have concluded that there was probable cause to arrest Berg based on the information Wolfgang had at the time. Ordinarily, it is reasonable for an officer to assume that a warrant has been issued for probable cause. As the Supreme Court explained in Baker, Given the requirements that arrest be made only on probable cause and that one detained be accorded a speedy trial, we do not think a sheriff executing an arrest warrant is required by the Constitution to investigate independently every claim of innocence, whether the claim is based on mistaken identity or a defense such as lack of requisite intent. 443 U.S. at 145-46. Therefore, we have generally extended immunity to an officer who makes an arrest based on an objectively reasonable belief that there is a valid warrant. See Rogers, 120 F.3d at 456 (concluding that a state 13 trooper who was inaccurately told by another trooper that there was a warrant for the plaintiff 's arrest was immune from suit); Capone v. Marinelli, 868 F.2d 102, 105-06 (3d Cir. 1989) (holding that arresting officers were immune in light of a bulletin correctly reporting the existence of an arrest warrant as well as the nature of the alleged offenses [including child kidnaping] and the fact that a young child was in possible danger); cf. Groman v. Township of Manalapan, 47 F.3d 628, 635 n.10 (3d Cir. 1995) (affirming summary judgment in favor of officers who arrested plaintiff after being told by another officer that plaintiff had assaulted her). Other courts of appeals have adopted the same rule. See Pickens v. Hollowell, 59 F.3d 1203, 1207-08 (11th Cir. 1995); Salmon v. Schwartz, 948 F.2d 1131, 114041 (10th Cir. 1991); Bennett v. City of Grand Prairie, Tex., 883 F.2d 400, 408 (5th Cir. 1989); Barr v. Abrams, 810 F.2d 358, 362 (2d Cir. 1987). But see Ruehman v. Sheahan, 34 F.3d 525, 527 (7th Cir. 1994) (dicta) (questioning whether officers who arrested plaintiff based on an inaccurate computer report of an outstanding warrant were protected by qualified immunity). Nevertheless, an apparently valid warrant does not render an officer immune from suit if his reliance on it is unreasonable in light of the relevant circumstances. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, other information that the officer possesses or to which he has reasonable access, and whether failing to make an immediate arrest creates a public threat or danger of flight. See Malley, 475 U.S. at 345 (holding that where a police office submits an affidavit in support of a warrant request, and a reviewing magistrate's concludes that the affidavit establishes probable cause, the officer is not immune from a S 1983 lawsuit if a reasonably well-trained officer in petitioner's position would have known that his affidavit failed to establish probable cause . . . .); see also Yancey v. Carroll County, 876 F.2d 1238, 1243 (6th Cir. 1989) (holding that [p]olice officers are entitled to rely on a judicially secured warrant for immunity from a S 1983 action for illegal search and seizure unless the warrant is so lacking in indicia of probable cause, that official belief in the existence of probable cause is unreasonable.). 14 At the summary judgment stage here, Berg submitted a report from Alan Springer, a Pennsylvania Constable, who concluded it was not objectively reasonable for Mr. Wolfgang to believe that probable cause existed for the arrest of Mr. Berg under the circumstances. According to Springer, the relevant circumstances included the age of the warrant, the invalid address, Berg's socio-economic status, Berg's documentation that he had completed his probation, Berg's cooperativeness, the fact that Berg had a driver's license despite allegedly being on parole for DUI, the fact that Berg did not flee or ask his guests to leave despite having ample warning of Wolfgang's arrival, and the nonviolent nature of the crime. Springer stated that Wolfgang should have waited until the probation office reopened on January 3, 1995 so he could look into Berg's claims. He also opined that Wolfgang had been predisposed to arrest Mr. Berg to earn his fee, particularly after such a large investment of time. We think Springer's report raises valid questions concerning the reasonableness of Wolfgang's conduct in this case. Because the District Court concluded that Berg's arrest had not been unconstitutional, it did not reach Wolfgang's qualified immunity claim. Consequently, it did not make the findings of fact necessary to determine, as a mater of law, whether Wolfgang's reliance on the warrant was unreasonable under the circumstances with which he was confronted. Therefore, we will remand the cause so that the District Court can make the necessary findings, and can consider the qualified immunity issue in the first instance.