Opinion ID: 3196799
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Authority to Arrest

Text: Martin also contends that his arrest, even if supported by probable cause, violated the Fourth Amendment because the APSA stripped law enforcement of jurisdiction to effectuate arrests for elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation without first contacting an investigator from the DCF. Martin interprets the APSA as prohibiting law enforcement from conducting any investigation into allegations of elder abuse unless and until a DCF investigator has conducted an initial 12 Case: 15-12418 Date Filed: 04/22/2016 Page: 13 of 16 investigation. We conclude that these allegations also fail to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Even were we to agree with Martin that Leon County sheriff officers acted improperly by initiating an investigation of Martin without first contacting the DCF, we would still have no basis to reverse the district court’s dismissal of his claim. 10 “There is no federal right not to be arrested in violation of state law. While the violation of state law may (or may not) give rise to a state tort claim, it is not enough by itself to support a claim under section 1983.” Knight, 300 F.3d at 1276 (citations omitted); accord Garvie v. City of Fort Walton Beach, 366 F.3d 1186, 1191 (11th Cir. 2004) (“[I]n general, allegations that local officials failed to comply with state laws are not federal constitutional claims.”). Thus, even if Leon County sheriff officers violated the APSA by acting outside their jurisdiction in investigating the exploitation of Martin’s mother, that violation of state law does not itself violate the Fourth Amendment. 11 10 Although we need not interpret this state statute to resolve this appeal and therefore refrain from doing so, we doubt that Martin’s interpretation of the APSA is correct. The APSA does vest the DCA with authority to investigate elder abuse. See, e.g., Fla. Stat. § 415.104. These investigations, however, do not appear to concern the “inflict[ion of] criminal sanctions” but rather “deal primarily with the provision of protective services to elderly persons and the remedies available when neglect, abuse, or exploitation occur, including enjoining contact with the elderly person, requiring an accounting of funds, etc.” Cuda v. State, 639 So. 2d 22, 24 (Fla. 1994) (emphasis added). Thus, given that the APSA appears to imbue the DCF with no prerogative to conduct criminal investigations of elder abuse, we find it extremely unlikely that its provisions divest law enforcement agencies of that same authority. 11 Other circuits have recognized a narrow exception to this general rule for arrests made outside of a state’s territorial limits. See, e.g., Felton v. Hodges, 374 F.2d 337, 339 (5th Cir. 13 Case: 15-12418 Date Filed: 04/22/2016 Page: 14 of 16