Opinion ID: 4214415
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Qualified Immunity and Sheriff Halford

Text: Sheriff Halford asserts qualified immunity. Jauch bears the burden of showing that he is not so entitled. Hanks v. Rogers, 853 F.3d 738, 744 (5th Cir. 2017). We have held that the indefinite detention procedure violated Jauch’s Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. The only question, therefore, is whether Jauch’s “right was ‘clearly established’ at the time of the challenged conduct.” Turner v. Lieutenant Driver, 848 F.3d 678, 685 (5th Cir. 2017) (quoting Whitley v. Hanna, 726 F.3d 631, 638 (5th Cir. 2013)). We have spilled much ink to thoroughly establish our constitutional footing, an effort we found necessary in light of Jones’ limited analysis. That explication does not diminish the Jones holding, however—prolonged detention without the benefit of a court appearance violates the detainee’s Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. 203 F.3d at 880–81. The right at issue here was clearly established and its contours “sufficiently clear” that any reasonable official would understand that the Constitution forbids confining criminal defendants for a prolonged period (months in this case) prior 16 Case: 16-60690 Document: 00514207740 Page: 17 Date Filed: 10/24/2017 No. 16-60690 to bringing them before a judge. See Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 3039 (1987). And so we held in Jones itself, ruling the individual defendants, a sheriff and his deputy, not entitled to qualified immunity. Id. at 881. Sheriff Halford’s claim to qualified immunity is less compelling than was the claim of those Mississippi law enforcement officers. Tellingly, Sheriff Halford’s arguments relating to qualified immunity do not even mention Jones. In fact, at one point in this litigation, he conceded that that “the Choctaw County Sheriff’s Office, Choctaw County District Attorney or Circuit Court Judge clearly should have provided Plaintiff Jauch with an appearance before the Circuit Court of Choctaw County” within the 30 days provided for by state law. (Emphasis added.) While he attempted to spread the blame to other officials, his actions and decisions are the cause of Jauch’s constitutional injury. Either Sheriff Halford is plainly incompetent, or he knowingly violated the law. Sheriff Halford’s lone argument regarding qualified immunity is that “[f]unctions of state officials do not impute legal duties actionable by federal tort to a county official simply because the applicable state official is otherwise immune.” Translated from legalese, the assertion is that Jauch sued him only because the truly responsible parties, judges of the circuit court, are immune from suit. This is simply wrong. Sheriff Halford is responsible for those incarcerated in his jail, Miss. Code Ann. § 19-25-69, and the capias did not require him to impose the unconstitutional detention policy. Moreover, in an analogous context, the Supreme Court of Mississippi has made clear the responsibility of county sheriffs to hold detainees in a manner consistent with their oaths to uphold the federal and state constitutions: To hold that the citizen may be arrested and held in jail without the benefit of bail until such time as a court may be held by the mayor or justice of the peace would mean that if [court could not be held for any reason], the sheriff could detain the accused 17 Case: 16-60690 Document: 00514207740 Page: 18 Date Filed: 10/24/2017 No. 16-60690 indefinitely, and in violation of his constitutional right to bail. . . . An officer should need no authority other than that implied under the Constitution and the statutes hereinbefore discussed to inform him that he should not hold the citizen in custody for an unreasonable length of time in violation of his constitutional right to bail. It would be better that an offender, who is arrested without a warrant by a sheriff or private person on their own authority, be released without bail, than that he should be detained in jail in violation of the Constitution. Sheffield v. Reece, 28 So.2d 745, 748 (Miss. 1947). The present case is different from Sheffield, a case of statutory interpretation grounded in the state constitution, but the concerns animating the Supreme Court of Mississippi in 1947 are present here. Sheriff Halford should have known to put his constitutional obligations ahead of his idiosyncratic understanding of state law requirements. 10 He is not entitled to immunity.