Amanda Sumpter v. Wayne Cty.

868 F.3d 473, 2017 FED App. 0187P, 2017 WL 3568607, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 15649
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedAugust 18, 2017
Docket16-2102
StatusPublished
Cited by106 cases

This text of 868 F.3d 473 (Amanda Sumpter v. Wayne Cty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Amanda Sumpter v. Wayne Cty., 868 F.3d 473, 2017 FED App. 0187P, 2017 WL 3568607, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 15649 (6th Cir. 2017).

Opinions

GRIFFIN, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which SUTTON, J., joined. CLAY, J. (pp. 492-503); delivered a separate dissenting opinion.

OPINION

GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge.

Pretrial detainees must tolerate some invasion of them privacy in order to accommodate the important government interests necessary for the operation of the detention facility. For instance, detainees may be subjected to suspicionless strip searches as part of the jail’s intake process. See Florence v. Bd. of Chosen Freeholders of Cty. of Burlington, 566 U.S. 318, 328, 132 S.Ct. 1510, 182 L.Ed.2d 566 (2012). The issue we face is whether periodically conducting group strip searches when the number of jail inmates waiting to be processed makes individual searches imprudent constitutes a violation of clearly established Fourth Amendment law. Under the facts of this case, we answer that question “no” and therefore hold that the jail official who conducted the group searches, defendant Terri Graham, is entitled to qualified immunity. In addition, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants Wayne County and the Wayne County Sheriff on plaintiffs Monell claims and requests for injunctive and declaratory relief.

I.

In late 2012, plaintiff Amanda Sumpter spent a month in the Wayne County Jail in Detroit, Michigan.1 During her incarcera[479]*479tion, Sumpter underwent four strip searches that she alleges violated her Fourth Amendment rights.

Three of the searches occurred in the jail’s Registry, where inmates are routinely strip searched when first arriving to jail or returning from a trip outside. Defendant Corporal Terri Graham conducted the three Registry searches of plaintiff. No male deputies were present for these searches. Each time, Graham escorted plaintiff into the Registry with as many as five other women. Although the door to the room had a window, it was covered with paper, preventing anyone outside the Registry from observing the searches. Inside, Graham instructed the inmates to undress, and if they were arriving for the first time, she collected their street clothes and personal effects. She then directed the inmates to perform a series of tasks, including shaking their hair, opening their mouths, lifting their breasts, and squatting and coughing, while Graham visually inspected for hidden contraband — an experience plaintiff described as “embarrassing” and “humiliating.” Afterwards, Graham provided the inmates with jail attire, and escorted the arriving inmates to see medical personnel while the returning inmates waited to be taken to their cellblock.

The fourth search occurred in plaintiff’s cellblock, where inmates are housed. After searching the cells for contraband, an unidentified female guard gathered the inmates in the common area, lined them up, and conducted a group strip search. According to plaintiff, the strip search took place in view of the guards’ central command post inside the cellblock, commonly called the “Bubble.” During this search, plaintiff saw and heard three male guards inside the Bubble. Although she could not identify their faces because the glass was tinted, she saw their silhouettes and believed they were facing the common area.

Two years later, in December 2014, plaintiff filed suit against Graham, Wayne County, and the Wayne County Sheriff, alleging that the searches violated her constitutional rights. Plaintiffs complaint alleged two Fourth Amendment claims: first, she complained that Graham’s three Registry searches were unreasonable because they were conducted in an unprofessional manner and in front of other inmates; second, she alleged that the group strip search in her ■ cellblock was unreasonable because male guards were able to watch from the Bubble. Plaintiff sought monetary, injunctive, and declaratory relief on behalf of herself and all other similarly situated female inmates at the Wayne County Jail.

Plaintiff also filed motions to certify the class and to preliminarily enjoin the group searches. Before the district court ruled on these motions, defendants filed a motion for partial summary judgment. First, Graham argued that she was entitled to qualified immunity on the Registry-searches claim. Relying on Graham’s affidavit and deposition testimony that she conducted group strip searches only when the volume of inmates waiting to be processed required it, defendant Graham argued that no case clearly established that her conduct constituted a Fourth Amendment violation. Second, defendants Wayne County and the Wayne County Sheriff moved for summary judgment on plaintiff’s cellblock-search claim on the grounds that plaintiff merely alleged an isolated incident without submitting any evidence showing it was the product of an official policy or custom. Finally, defendants argued that plaintiffs requests for injunctive and declaratory re[480]*480lief were moot because Sumpter did not reside at the jail at the time she sued.

The district court agreed with defendants on all three fronts. In the same order, it also denied without prejudice the pending motion for class certification, as well as plaintiffs motion to strike an errata sheet that defendants filed as part, of their summary judgment motion.2 Following the entry of a final judgment, plaintiff appeals.

IL

We review ,a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo, Keith v. Cty. of Oakland, 703 F.3d 918, 923 (6th Cir. 2013). Summary judgment is proper “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 66(a). “To prevail, the nonmovant must show sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact,” which is to say, “[t]here must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the [nonmovant].” Napier v. Madison Cty., Ky., 238 F.3d 739, 742 (6th Cir. 2001) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)". “We consider all facts arid inferences drawn therefrom in the light'most favorable to the nonmov-ant.” City of Wyandotte v. Consol. Rail Corp., 262 F.3d 581, 585 (6th Cir. 2001).

III.

A.

The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Graham on the basis of qualified immunity. That doctrine shields governmental officials from monetary damages as long as “their actions did not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Chappell v. City of Cleveland, 585 F.3d 901, 907 (6th Cir. 2009). To determine whether a defendant is entitled to qualified immunity, we perform a two-part, inquiry, Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 232, 129 S.Ct. 808, 172 L.Ed.2d 565 (2009), which we may conduct in either order, id. at 236, 129 S.Ct. 808. We ask whether the facts alleged or shown “make out a violation of a constitutional, right” and “whether the right at issue was ‘clearly established’ ” at the time of the incident. Id. at 232, 129 S.Ct. 808 (quoting Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001)). A plaintiff must satisfy both inquiries,in order to defeat the assertion of qualified immunity. Wesley v. Campbell, 779 F.3d 421, 428-29 (6th Cir. 2015).

B.

The Fourth Amendment governs plaintiffs claim against Graham.

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868 F.3d 473, 2017 FED App. 0187P, 2017 WL 3568607, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 15649, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amanda-sumpter-v-wayne-cty-ca6-2017.