Opinion ID: 447979
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Claims against deputies for unlawful arrest in violation of Fourth Amendment.

Text: 12 The plaintiffs' complaint alleged violations of their Fourth Amendment rights arising from both the warrantless entry into their campers and the lack of probable cause to arrest. We first address the illegal entry claim. 13 Since the Payton v. New York 5 decision, any warrantless entry into a house to effectuate an arrest, absent exigent circumstances, has been considered to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Citing the Payton decision, the district court initially held this case over for trial on the issue of whether there was an illegal entry by the sheriffs. In a later order, the district court changed its mind, citing United States v. Griffin, 530 F.2d 739 (7th Cir.1976), and held as a matter of law that because the plaintiffs opened the door in response to the deputies identifying themselves, they consented to the deputies' entry. Based upon the facts presented from the parties' motions and affidavits in support of summary judgment, we are not convinced that the plaintiffs consented to the deputies' entry; however, we initially address the issue of whether the officers are immune from liability, as a matter of law, for their warrantless entry. 14 Even though an officer may be exposed to damages arising from a Sec. 1983 violation, he or she will not be held liable where the law at the time of the arrest was unsettled. In this case, the plaintiffs were arrested after the warrantless entry into their camper. This arrest, however, took place prior to the Payton decision which established that warrantless entry into a home absent exigent circumstances was unconstitutional. Prior to the Payton decision, the Supreme Court had not resolved the issue of whether and under what circumstances an officer may enter a suspect's home to make a warrantless arrest. United States v. Watson, 423 U.S. 411, 418 n. 6, 96 S.Ct. 820, 825 n. 6, 46 L.Ed.2d 598 (1976). 15 At the time of the plaintiff's arrest, the literal terms of the Illinois statute governing the manner of arrest apparently gave carte blanche authority for police officers with probable cause to arrest to enter without a warrant. See Ill.Rev.Stat. ch. 38, Secs. 107-2, 107-5(d) (1971) cited in Payton, 445 U.S. at 598 n. 46, 100 S.Ct. at 1386 n. 46. However, prior to the Payton decision, the Illinois appellate courts did recognize that the constitutionality of warrantless entries absent exigent circumstances was open to question. See People v. Wolgemuth, 69 Ill.2d 154, 13 Ill.Dec. 40, 370 N.E.2d 1067 (1977), cert. denied, 436 U.S. 908, 98 S.Ct. 2243, 56 L.Ed.2d 408, cited in Payton, 445 U.S. at 599 n. 46, 100 S.Ct. at 1386 n. 46. An examination of the Illinois appellate decisions near the time of the plaintiffs' arrest demonstrate this uncertainty. For example, in People v. Wolgemuth, 43 Ill.App.3d 335, 1 Ill.Dec. 857, 356 N.E.2d 1139 (1976), an Illinois appellate court held that warrantless entry into a home to make an arrest absent exigent circumstances violated the Fourth Amendment. This decision was reversed on other grounds by the Illinois Supreme Court. People v. Wolgemuth, 69 Ill.2d 154, 13 Ill.Dec. 40, 370 N.E.2d 1067 (1977). Other decisions during this period noted that the lawfulness of a warrantless entry must be determined on a case-by-case basis. See e.g., People v. Bean, 73 Ill.App.3d 918, 29 Ill.Dec. 953, 392 N.E.2d 650 (1979); People v. Logan, 78 Ill.App.3d 646, 34 Ill.Dec. 48, 397 N.E.2d 504 (1979). 6 16 In Foster v. Zeeko, 540 F.2d 1310 (7th Cir.1976), 7 we stated  '[t]he fate of an official with qualified immunity depends upon the circumstances and motivations of his actions, as established by the evidence at trial.' ... While it is true that we are here more concerned with the objective than the subjective state of mind of the defendants, we are of the opinion that the general rule of inappropriateness of summary judgment in actions involving state of mind, ... is not without applicability here. Id. at 1319 (citations omitted). The Supreme Court, however, recently addressed the issue of qualified immunity of officials who violate constitutional protections and eliminated the subjective good faith element previously referred to as the second-prong of the good faith defense. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982). 8 The Supreme Court went on to state: 17 Reliance on the objective reasonableness of an official's conduct, as measured by reference to clearly established law, should avoid excessive disruption of government and permit the resolution of many insubstantial claims on summary judgment. On summary judgment, the judge appropriately may determine, not only the currently applicable law, but whether that law was clearly established at the time an action occurred. If the law at that time was not clearly established, an official could not reasonably be expected to anticipate subsequent legal developments, nor could he fairly be said to 'know' that the law forbade conduct not previously identified as unlawful. 18 Id. at 818, 102 S.Ct. at 2739. The Supreme Court spoke exclusively in terms of clearly established law. This suggests that an official may escape liability for acts which could possibly be considered to violate a constitutional right if the right violated was not clearly established. 19 In this case, the arrest of the plaintiffs was prior to the Supreme Court decision in Payton declaring that warrantless entry into a dwelling to effectuate an arrest absent exigent circumstances was unconstitutional. The state of the law in Illinois prior to the Payton decision was unclear. The Illinois statutes clearly provided for warrantless entry; however, the Illinois appellate courts were far less cavalier in approving of such entry. Since the state of the law regarding warrantless entry was far from clearly established in Illinois at the time of the plaintiffs' arrest let alone under the United States Constitution, we hold that under the dictates of the Supreme Court's decision in Harlow the dismissal of the plaintiffs' claim in regard to the warrantless entry was proper. Since it was proper for the district court to dismiss this portion of plaintiff's claim, we do not reach the consent issue insofar as consent relates to the Fourth Amendment warrantless entry cause of action. 9 20 Despite the fact that the warrantless entry into the camper does not give rise to a Sec. 1983 claim in this case, this does not end our inquiry as to whether an issue of fact exists regarding the Fourth Amendment violation. Relying on the citizen informant rule, the district court determined that the deputy sheriffs had sufficient probable cause to arrest the plaintiffs for theft of services under Ill.Rev.Stat., ch. 38, Sec. 16A-1 (1979). Citing United States v. Rowell, 612 F.2d 1176 (7th Cir.1980), the district court determined that the information provided by Mr. Schneiter and the waitress was sufficient under the citizen informant rule to establish the existence of probable cause. Although not clearly addressed in their briefs, the plaintiffs apparently contend that issues of fact remain as to the presence of probable cause to arrest under the facts of this case. They assert that the officers' own good faith belief as to whether probable cause existed is at issue since one of the officers allegedly told Mrs. Kosmel on the way to the jail that she should consider suing because of the circumstances of their arrest. 21 Previous to Harlow, the test for the existence of a Sec. 1983 violation was  'not whether the arrest was constitutional or unconstitutional or whether it was made with or without probable cause, but whether the officer believed in good faith that the arrest was made with probable cause and whether that belief was reasonable.' Brubaker v. King, 505 F.2d 534, 536-37 (7th Cir.1974). Lenard v. Argento, 699 F.2d 874, 884 (7th Cir.1983). Thus, under this formulation the plaintiffs have a legitimate point as to whether an issue of fact exists as to the officer's good faith in making the arrest. However, as pointed out earlier, the United States Supreme Court has eliminated the subjective good faith prong. Harlow, 457 U.S. at 817-18, 102 S.Ct. at 2738. If probable cause does not exist and, therefore does not act as a bar to the plaintiffs' action, 10 the test for immunity is whether the police officer  'knew or reasonably should have known that the action he took within his sphere of official responsibility would violate the constitutional rights of the [plaintiff] ....'  Id. at 815, 102 S.Ct. at 2737. 22 The district court relied on, and the defendant now cites to us, cases standing for the proposition that information supplied by citizens regarding an alleged crime is enough to furnish probable cause to arrest. 11 1] These cases involved a felony forgery (United States v. Rowell, 612 F.2d 1176 (7th Cir.1980)); a suspect's flight from a scene of a violent felony (United States ex rel. Burbank v. Warden, Ill. State Penitentiary, 535 F.2d 361 (7th Cir.1976), cert. denied sub nom., 429 U.S. 1045, 97 S.Ct. 750, 50 L.Ed.2d 758 (1977)); the sale of narcotics (People v. Logan, 78 Ill.App.3d 646, 34 Ill.Dec. 48, 397 N.E.2d 504 (1979)); a drug-related murder (People v. Fisher, 76 Ill.App.3d 331, 32 Ill.Dec. 107, 395 N.E.2d 54 (1979)); an armed robbery (People v. Bean, 73 Ill.App.3d 918, 29 Ill.Dec. 953, 392 N.E.2d 650 (1979)); and the possession of a concealed weapon (People v. Mitchell, 68 Ill.App.3d 370, 24 Ill.Dec. 949, 386 N.E.2d 153 (1979)). All of these cases involved serious crimes and felonies which required a swift response on the part of the investigating police officers. Ultimately, however, probable cause is determined not by the strictures of the citizen informant rule but by the factual, practical considerations of everyday life upon which reasonable prudent men, not legal technicians act. United States v. Watson, 587 F.2d 365, 368 (7th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1132, 99 S.Ct. 1055, 59 L.Ed.2d 95; United States v. Ganter, 436 F.2d 364 (7th Cir.1970); See also Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 93 L.Ed. 1879 (1949). Whether the arrest was valid depends upon the facts and circumstances within their [the arresting officers'] knowledge and of which they had reasonably trustworthy information were sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that the petitioner had committed or was committing an offense. Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964) (explanation added). Thus, in cases such as this, the question revolves around the sufficiency of the information in the possession of the arresting officers and those that gave the command to arrest. 23 As evidenced by the affidavits and interrogatories in the record, this case essentially involves a dispute over the amount owed on a restaurant bill. It could almost be characterized as a dispute over whether a breach of contract occurred between the parties as to services and food to be provided. One party is dissatisfied with the service after not being served for two hours, while the other party insists upon performance for the services and the food ordered. One party insists that payment was offered for the consumed food, while the other insists that no offer of payment was made. Even considering that the deputies were privy to only one version of the story at the time they went to the campgrounds, apparently with their minds already made up to arrest the plaintiffs after orders from headquarters, it is clear that the parties involved were not fleeing from the scene, rather they were asleep in their campers at the time of the arrest. There was neither a threat to the officers' safety, nor a large amount of money involved in dispute, nor any serious crime committed. Yet, upon arriving at the campsite and determining, after asking the plaintiffs only one question--whether they were present in the restaurant on that particular night--the officers arrested, handcuffed, and conveyed the plaintiffs to the county jail. This entire episode may have been avoided if the officer who received the original complaint and the arresting officers had used reasonable judgment and conducted a proper investigation, inquiring both as to the plaintiffs' presence in the restaurant and the dispute over the bill. Once explanations were provided, a further investigation could have been commenced in an attempt to resolve the dispute in a reasonable manner. 24 In Roschen v. Ward, 279 U.S. 337, 49 S.Ct. 336, 73 L.Ed. 722 (1929), a case construing a criminal statute, Mr. Justice Holmes stated, in language equally applicable to this situation, that [w]e agree to all the generalities about not supplying criminal laws with what they omit, but there is no canon against using common sense in construing laws as saying what they obviously mean. Id. at 339, 49 S.Ct. at 336. If we may be so bold as to paraphrase Justice Holmes' thought, there is no law against using common sense; indeed, the use of common sense is a prerequisite for police officers in developing their investigation in order to effectuate a valid arrest. In this land of freedom and liberty, with all of its concomitant constitutional rights and protections, if we wish to have our citizen population continue to respect the authority of police personnel performing their duties in a lawful manner, it is incumbent upon law enforcement officials to make a thorough investigation and exercise reasonable judgment before invoking the awesome power of arrest and detention. 25 Judge Posner, in his concurring opinion, argues that there are two jury questions present in this case, consent and probable cause. He seems to contend that the determination of probable cause is dependent upon the answer to the consent question. Our disagreement centers around the scope of the questions to be presented to the jury. This case has been litigated to date on the assumption that there were two alleged Fourth Amendment violations--the unlawful entry and the lack of probable cause to arrest. We have established, as a matter of law, that a cause of action does not arise under Sec. 1983 for the deputies' warrantless entry into the plaintiffs' mobile campers since the law of warrantless entry was unsettled at the time of the alleged incident. 12 Therefore, unless he is urging alternative grounds for establishing liability, which he appears not to do since he ties the issue of consent to probable cause, a separate jury question on consent to enter is unnecessary since it implies that there may be an alternate theory upon which to impose liability other than the lack of probable cause to arrest. 13 26 This panel certainly agrees, however, that it cannot accept the district court's reliance upon the citizen informant rule and its conclusion, as a matter of law, that probable cause existed to arrest the plaintiffs. This case was dismissed on summary judgment; however, this court believes, under the circumstances, there remain questions of fact and it should have been left for the jury to decide the probable cause issue. See e.g., B.C.R. Transport Co., Inc. v. Fontaine, 727 F.2d 7 (1st Cir.1984); McKenzie v. Lamb, 738 F.2d 1005, 1008 (9th Cir.1984); Giordano v. Lee, 434 F.2d 1227, 1230 (8th Cir.1970), cert. denied, 403 U.S. 931, 91 S.Ct. 2250, 29 L.Ed.2d 709 (1971); cf. Garris v. Rowland, 678 F.2d 1264, 1270 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 864, 103 S.Ct. 143, 74 L.Ed.2d 121 (1982). Therefore, under the circumstances of this case it is proper for the jury to consider all the evidence, including questions regarding the sufficiency of the deputies' investigation at the scene, in determining whether there was enough evidence to establish probable cause to arrest for the crime of theft of services. Further, the jury may also consider the plaintiffs' statement that they were present at the restaurant only if the jury initially determines that those answers were not coerced. If the police officers did not have probable cause to arrest prior to their questioning the plaintiffs, the answers, if in response to an uninvited entry and harsh questions, cannot provide the probable cause. However, the jury can consider whether the answers to the sheriff's questions were coerced when it considers all the evidence in this case as it relates to probable cause. Contrary to Judge Posner's analysis in which he proposes that a separate jury question on the consent issue be presented, we hold a separate question need not be submitted. Rather, the jury should be instructed that if it finds the deputies did not have the required probable cause to arrest prior to the plaintiff's answers in the campers identifying themselves as the persons at the restaurant, the plaintiff's responses cannot support a finding of probable cause to arrest if, considering the circumstances of the entry and questioning, the jury is convinced those answers were coerced. Thus, we reverse and remand this issue for proceedings consistent with the directions contained herein. 27 This is not to suggest that the defendants in this case will now become liable for their actions. The jury may very well determine that probable cause existed to justify the arrest. Further, I believe, contrary to the position taken by my learned brethren on this panel, that submission of an immunity instruction is proper in this case. Although Harlow indicated that the issue of whether a constitutional right is clearly established is usually to be decided by the judge prior to trial (Harlow, 457 U.S. at 818, 102 S.Ct. at 2738), it did not state that this approach is etched in stone. Since Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547, 87 S.Ct. 1213, 18 L.Ed.2d 288 (1967), courts have traditionally submitted both probable cause and immunity questions to the jury. See Bledsoe v. Garcia, 742 F.2d 1237, 1239 (10th Cir.1984). Thus, if the probable cause question is to be submitted to the jury, as in this case, the question of whether there was in fact a constitutional violation will not be decided until the jury has determined whether or not probable cause existed at the time of arrest. If the jury should find that probable cause did not exist, then the question of immunity arises and should be presented to the jury concerning whether or not the police officer reasonably believed the actions taken were constitutional, even though the jury found that the technical requirements of probable cause were lacking to justify the arrest. 14 See Bilbrey By Bilbrey v. Brown, 738 F.2d 1462, 1466-67 (9th Cir.1984) (citing Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 456 F.2d 1339, 1348 (2d Cir.1972) enforcing 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971), which explained that a distinction exists between the constitutional standards of probable cause and the officer's reasonable belief as to the validity of probable cause. 15 Following a similar rationale, Bilbrey harmonized the facial inconsistency in submitting an immunity question to the jury where the district court had found that probable cause, as a matter of law, did not exist); see also B.C.R. Transport Co., Inc. v. Fontaine, 727 F.2d 7, 10-11 (1st Cir.1984). But see Trejo v. Perez, 693 F.2d 482, 487-88 (5th Cir.1982). This approach is in accord with public policy considerations that while there may be a legitimate factual dispute over the existence of probable cause in a given situation, an officer will not be held liable unless his actions were unreasonable from a tort perspective. Bivens, 456 F.2d at 1349 (Lumbard, J., concurring). Cf. Bledsoe v. Garcia, 742 F.2d 1237 (10th Cir.1984). 28 The submission of instructions to the jury on the probable cause and immunity issues is consistent with the Supreme Court's admonition that where an official's duties legitimately require action in which clearly established rights are not implicated, the public interest may be better served by action taken 'with independence and without fear of consequence.' Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547, 554 [87 S.Ct. 1213, 1217, 18 L.Ed.2d 288] (1967). Harlow, 457 U.S. at 819, 102 S.Ct. at 2739. Probable cause is a rather amorphous concept. It has frequently been noted, in the context of the criminal procedure Fourth Amendment cases, that reasonable men often disagree on whether probable cause exists in a given set of circumstances. Thus, since Pierson v. Ray the jury has been instructed on both the issues of probable cause (as it normally involves a question of fact) and immunity separately. However, in this case, if only the probable cause question is submitted to the jury, without the added protection of an immunity instruction, police officers may not only be exposed to unwarranted liability in the future but also there will be a concomitant chilling effect on actions that they take in good faith in pursuit of legitimate law enforcement objectives. Our courts must be sensitive to this fact. Thus, given the ever-expanding scope of Sec. 1983 liability (cf. Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978)), I believe consideration of submitting the immunity instruction to a jury of peers becomes that much more important. 29 Finally, I believe that the defendants should be allowed to attempt to establish an immunity defense prior to trial if they can demonstrate to the district court the second phase of the Harlow immunity analysis, i.e., that extraordinary circumstances existed and that they neither knew or should have known of the relevant legal standard. Harlow, 457 U.S. at 819, 102 S.Ct. at 2739. My concern centers around the circumstances of the arrest. The evidence discloses that at least one of the arresting officers was a volunteer. Also, in his affidavit, Deputy Sheriff John Moss testified that after receiving the information from the restaurant owner, he relayed it to his supervisor while en route to the campgrounds. He was subsequently instructed by his supervising officer to arrest the plaintiffs. Thus, it appears from the facts contained in this record that the decision to arrest was not made by the deputies, but rather was made by the shift sergeant in command who was removed from the scene and was unfortunately not specifically named as a defendant in this action. I believe that this may be one of those extraordinary circumstances referred to in Harlow and merits further consideration as far as the deputy sheriffs are concerned. This, of course, may not merit a grant of immunity prior to trial, in spite of the supervisor's order to arrest, given the deputies' questionable inquiry and investigation at the scene. However, before this conclusion is reached, the procedures followed by the sheriff's department in situations similar to the present one and the amount of discretion if any given to deputy sheriffs to investigate after being ordered to arrest by a superior officer, in my opinion, require further inquiry. 30