Court Opinion

ID: 9480094
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 07:38:06.752673+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:47:28.932250
License: Public Domain

TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
I disagree with the majority’s conclusion, which is based, in my opinion, upon an ex post facto interpretation of an unclear Maine law, Me.Rev.Stat.Ann. tit. 17-A, § 751 (1983), not on what a reasonable police officer would have done under the circumstances. A reasonable police officer, upon observing the crucial facts of this case, could have concluded, (1) that Fonte was not legally entitled to retain custody of the child, (2) that the child ran from the dock into hiding upon instructions imparted by Fonte, and (3) that, at the time this took place, the child might have been secreted away and not found without some difficulty. Thus, the police officers could have reasonably concluded that Maine law had been violated by Fonte and that there was probable cause for Fonte’s arrest.
Under a typical custody dispute scenario, the paramount duty of the State is to protect the child. Inhibiting a police officer's good faith discretion by imposing the threat of civil liability under circumstances such as those of the present case, is contrary to well-established doctrine in the area of qualified immunity. See Harlow v. *287Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 807, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2732, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982) (holding that qualified immunity exists because there is a “need to protect officials who are required to exercise their discretion and the related public interest in encouraging the vigorous exercise of official authority”); Butz v. Economou, 438 U.S. 478, 506, 98 S.Ct. 2894, 2911, 57 L.Ed.2d 895 (1978).
In this case, the police officers may have been mistaken in their interpretation of Maine law, but they did not act unreasonably, particularly in light of the fact that they were interpreting what is hardly clearly established law. The officers should not be held liable in damages “for mere mistakes in judgment, whether the mistake is one of fact or of law.” Butz v. Economou, 438 U.S. 478, 507, 98 S.Ct. 2894, 2911, 57 L.Ed.2d 895 (1978).
For these reasons, I believe that the district court was mistaken in not permitting the use of the defense of qualified immunity in this lawsuit.