Opinion ID: 746959
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Objective Reasonableness of the Defendant's Actions

Text: 13 The dispute in this case focuses on the second prong of the Harlow test--that is, whether the plaintiffs have alleged facts sufficient to demonstrate that defendants' conduct was objectively unreasonable in light of clearly established law. On appeal, Agent Gesi argues that the district court erred in denying his motion to dismiss because the plaintiffs failed to allege any facts to support their allegation that he knowingly or recklessly submitted false information in his warrant affidavit. Because this appeal arises on a motion to dismiss, we construe the facts, and reasonable inferences that might be drawn from them, in favor of the plaintiff. See Beard v. City Northglenn, Colo., 24 F.3d 110, 115 (10th Cir.1994). 14 Agent Gesi correctly notes that in the context of a qualified immunity defense, this court has traditionally required plaintiffs to meet a heightened pleading standard. See Sawyer v. County of Creek, 908 F.2d 663, 667 (10th Cir.1990) (Once a qualified immunity defense has been raised ..., the plaintiff is held to a heightened standard of pleading.). The purpose of the heightened pleading requirement is rooted in the purpose of the qualified immunity doctrine itself. When the Supreme Court reformulated its qualified immunity test in Harlow to focus on the objective reasonableness of an officer's actions as opposed to his or her subjective intent, the Court sought to shield government officials not only from the substantial costs of subjecting officials to the risks of trial, but also from [j]udicial inquiry into subjective motivation, including broad-ranging discovery and the deposing of numerous persons. 457 U.S. at 816, 102 S.Ct. at 2737. The Court held that such inquiries can be peculiarly disruptive of effective government. Id. In keeping with this important concern for shielding government officers from burdensome discovery in cases where subjective intent is at issue, this court and several other circuits have imposed a more stringent pleading requirement where a qualified immunity defense is asserted. 2 See Pueblo Neighborhood Health Ctrs., Inc., 847 F.2d at 646. See also Crawford-El v. Britton, 93 F.3d 813, 816-17 (D.C.Cir.1996) (en banc), petition for cert. granted, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 2451, 138 L.Ed.2d 210 (1997); Branch v. Tunnell, 14 F.3d 449, 452 (9th Cir.1994); Gooden v. Howard County, Md., 954 F.2d 960, 969-70 (4th Cir.1992) (en banc); Elliott v. Thomas, 937 F.2d 338, 344-45 (7th Cir.1991);Dominque v. Telb, 831 F.2d 673, 677 (6th Cir.1987). 15 The heightened pleading standard requires that a plaintiff do more than assert bare allegations of a constitutional violation. As we explained in Sawyer, [t]he complaint must include 'all the factual allegations necessary to sustain a conclusion that defendant violated clearly established law.'  908 F.2d at 667 (quoting Dominque, 831 F.2d at 676). If the original complaint is deficient, the plaintiff must amend his or her complaint to include specific, non-conclusory allegations of fact sufficient to allow the district court to determine that those facts, if proved, demonstrate that the actions taken were not objectively reasonable in light of the clearly established law. In the context of a Franks claim alleging the knowing or reckless submission of false information in a warrant affidavit, this court has previously held that if the plaintiff is able to prove the necessary deliberate falsehood or reckless disregard to impeach a facially valid warrant, the reasonableness inquiry has to be resolved against the defendant since no reasonably competent officer could believe [a search] legal where it was his deliberate reckless deception that led the magistrate to issue the warrant. Beard, 24 F.3d at 115. On the other hand, if the plaintiff fails to allege facts sufficient to demonstrate a Fourth Amendment violation, there is no need to proceed any further; [and] the case ends in defendant's favor. Id. at 115. 16 In the present case, the plaintiffs' complaint fails to allege any facts to support their claim that Agent Gesi knowing or recklessly submitted false information in his warrant affidavit. The only statement supporting the plaintiffs' Franks claim reads as follows: Sometime before August 21, 1993, defendant Nicola Gesi submitted affidavit(s) in connection with a request for the issuance of approximately sixty-six (66) search warrants. Defendant Gesi knowingly included false information in the affidavit(s) or recklessly disregarded the substantial probability that certain information in the affidavit(s) was false. Aplts' App., doc. 1, at 3 (First Amended Complaint dated Feb. 2, 1996). This allegation is a conclusory statement with no foundation in any specific facts arising from the warrant affidavit on which the claim is predicated. While we recognize that the plaintiffs have not had access to the warrant affidavit--which the issuing judge sealed in an unrelated criminal proceeding--we cannot subject a government official to discovery based on a complaint which is supported only by conclusory allegations and speculation of a constitutional violation. 17 Furthermore, the mere fact that no contraband was discovered during the searches of the plaintiffs' residences has nothing to do with whether or not Agent Gesi knowingly or recklessly submitted false information in submitting his warrant affidavit. The plaintiffs are incorrect that, because nothing was found, there could not have been probable cause to search the houses unless that probable cause was based on false information. Probable cause need not be based on actual guilt. Rather, probable cause to obtain a search warrant is based on a showing of a reasonable degree of suspicion that the suspected items will be found--not an actual showing that such items will be found. See Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2332, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983) (The task of the issuing magistrate is simply to make a practical, common-sense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit before him ... there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place.). Therefore, we decline to consider the plaintiffs' actual innocence as related to the question of whether or not Agent Gesi knowingly or recklessly submitted false information in his warrant affidavit. 18 In sum, the plaintiffs' complaint fails to offer specific, non-conclusory factual allegations sufficient to allow the district court to determine that those facts, if proved, demonstrate that Agent Gesi violated the plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment rights. Accordingly, we conclude that Agent Gesi's motion to dismiss on qualified immunity grounds must be granted. 19 Our conclusion, however, does not leave the plaintiffs without recourse. We are sympathetic to the plaintiffs' Catch-22 situation in which they seek to allege a constitutional violation based on a warrant affidavit but cannot offer any facts related to that affidavit because it has been sealed as a result of the defendants' on-going criminal investigation in Logan County. Not only does this situation make it difficult for the plaintiffs to survive a motion to dismiss--such as that presented in this instance--but it also exposes the plaintiffs' counsel to possible sanctions under Fed.R.Civ.P. 11 for presenting a pleading containing allegations lacking evidentiary support. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 11(b)(3). 20 In a case such as this, the plaintiffs should pursue every possible avenue to obtain the necessary facts to support their legal claims prior to filing a complaint in federal court. The plaintiffs have not done this. While the plaintiffs assert in their answer brief that they have been denied every opportunity to review or see [the warrant affidavit], Aples' Br. at 8, the plaintiffs have never sought an order from the judge who sealed the affidavit to allow an unsealing or limited unsealing of the affidavit for use in preparing their civil complaint. The plaintiffs should have sought to obtain the facts in this manner rather than filing a civil complaint and asking another court to oversee the discovery of documents sealed in a separate criminal matter. In the event that the plaintiffs' efforts to unseal the affidavit were to prove fruitless, the plaintiffs would have recourse by seeking appellate review of that decision in this court. See generally Lawmaster v. United States (In re Search of 1638 E. 2nd Street, Tulsa, Okla.), 993 F.2d 773 (10th Cir.1993) (involving civil plaintiff's appeal of denial of petition to unseal affidavit used to obtain search warrant). 3