Court Opinion

ID: 9499563
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:51:40.492313+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:59:35.082282
License: Public Domain

MANION, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur. On interlocutory appeal from the denial of qualified immunity, this court must accept the facts as set forth by the district court. Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 317, 115 S.Ct. 2151, 132 L.Ed.2d 238 (1995). In this case, the district court stated that under the facts as alleged by the plaintiffs, the plaintiffs “never accused each other of battery or otherwise gave an impression to the officers that they were involved in a domestic dispute.” District Court Opinion at 6. This factual finding seemingly conflicts with the content of the 911 tape, as summarized in the district court opinion, as well as the physical evidence presented to the district court in the form of photographs of an overturned chair and scratches on Leon’s face. The 911 call indicated that Leon had committed domestic battery and the scratches on Leon indicated that Clara had committed that same offense. And the overturned chair supports the view that a domestic dispute had been under way. Even if the Washingtons disclaimed any dispute once the officers arrived, the officers could still have reasonably disbelieved the Washing-tons’ story. Thus, it would seem that even accepting the Washingtons’ version of the facts, the officers would be entitled to qualified immunity. But the district court read the record differently, stating that the Washingtons never “gave an impression to the officers that they were involved in a domestic dispute.” District Court Opinion at 6. On interlocutory appeal, contrary to the court’s statement that an “appellate court is not required to accept the facts as described by the district court ... ”, see supra at 12 n. 2, that is precisely what we must do. On appeal from the denial of qualified immunity, this court lacks jurisdiction to review the record to determine whether the district court’s summary of the facts is supported by the record evidence. Johnson, 515 U.S. at 319-20, 115 S.Ct. 2151 (“For these reasons, we hold that a defendant entitled to invoke a qualified immunity defense may not appeal a district court’s summary judgment *552order insofar as that order determines whether or not the pretrial record sets forth a ‘genuine’ issue of fact for trial.”). See also Via v. LaGrand, 469 F.3d 618, 625 (7th Cir.2006) (“However, on interlocutory appeal of a denial of qualified immunity, this court generally lacks jurisdiction to review the full record. Instead, we may only consider whether the defendant is entitled to qualified immunity given the factual disputes found by the district court.” (footnote omitted)). Therefore, given the district court’s recital of the facts, I agree that affirmance is appropriate.