Barnes v. Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission

932 F. Supp. 691, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9343, 1996 WL 384113
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedJuly 3, 1996
DocketCivil No. PJM 95-3574
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 932 F. Supp. 691 (Barnes v. Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barnes v. Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission, 932 F. Supp. 691, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9343, 1996 WL 384113 (D. Md. 1996).

Opinion

OPINION

MESSITTE, District Judge.

I.

Raymond A. Barnes, Deborah Louise Barnes, and Raymond A. Barnes as parent and next friend of Raymond A. Barnes, Jr. sue the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) and two of its police officers, James Richards and “John Doe,” for violations of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 and for various common-law torts.1 Defendants have filed a Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment, which Plaintiffs oppose. The Court will GRANT Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment.2

[694]*694II.

Summary judgment is appropriate if there is no genuine issue of material fact that could lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). “There is no issue for trial unless there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party.” Id. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2511.

III.

These are the undisputed facts:

Raymond and Deborah Barnes, African-Americans, are the parents of Raymond A. Barnes, Jr., who was two years old at the time of the events in question. On November 24, 1994, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Barnes was driving Southbound on Branch Avenue near the intersection of Malcolm Road, in Clinton, Maryland. MNCPPC Police Officer James Richards observed Barnes operating at a high rate of speed and making unsafe lane changes and pulled his car over onto the side of the road. The officer detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverages on Barnes’ breath and asked him to exit his vehicle. When Barnes was unable to complete field sobriety tests, Richards arrested him for driving under the influence of alcohol.

While standing next to Barnes’ car, Richards observed a small child in the back seat without á child safety seat. Before transporting Barnes to a nearby police facility for processing, it was necessary for Richards to make arrangements for the child. As it happened, before transporting Barnes, Richards was joined by Officer “John Doe” (since identified as John Hudock),3 who undertook to look after the child. Hudock determined to keep the child in Barnes’ vehicle, turning on the heat to keep him warm. Before departing the scene, Richards advised Barnes that it was a violation of State law to drive with a child under age four or forty pounds without a safety seat.4 He explained that the officers would not transport the child from the scene without a safety seat and that arrangements would have to be made to obtain a seat. Barnes told Richards that Barnes’ wife had such a seat and gave Richards her phone number. Richards then transported Barnes to the State Police Barracks leaving Hudock at the scene with the child. Mrs. Barnes, having been contacted, arrived at the scene at approximately 1:30 a.m. with the safety seat.

Barnes, Sr. was eventually charged with speeding, driving while intoxicated, and driving without a child safety seat. He paid the citations for speeding and driving without a child safety seat and pleaded guilty to the charge of driving while intoxicated.

On this foundation, Plaintiffs construct claims of 1) violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments; 2) violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985; 3) intentional infliction of emotional distress; and 4) negligent supervision.5 They argue that Defendants’ policies with respect to child safety seats deprived the senior Barnes’ of their child’s companionship and made them fearful for their child’s safety; that the officers deprived the child of his constitutional rights because he was left unsupervised in a car on the side of the road on a cold night; and that Plaintiffs were discriminated against because of their race, age, and socioeconomic class. The Court unhesitatingly concludes that Plaintiffs claims are completely devoid of merit.

IV.

Section 1983 is not itself a source of substantive rights, but merely provides “a method for vindicating federal rights elsewhere conferred.” Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 144 n. 3, 99 S.Ct. 2689, 2694 n. 3, 61 L.Ed.2d 433 (1979). In evaluating a § 1983 [695]*695claim, the court must first identify the specific constitutional right allegedly infringed. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 394, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 1870, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989). Plaintiffs here allege violations of their Fifth Amendment right to due process of law and their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of the law based on their race and socioeconomic class.

A. Parents’ claim

Barnes, Sr. does not allege constitutional violations with respect to his own arrest. Instead he claims deprivation of life, liberty, and property by reason of his separation from his child. Mrs. Barnes makes an identical claim. The problem is that no such cause of action is recognized in this circuit. The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit so held in Shaw v. Stroud, 13 F.3d 791, 805 (4th Cir.1994): “[BJecause the Supreme Court has never extended the constitutionally protected liberty interest incorporated by the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause to encompass deprivations resulting from governmental actions affecting family only incidentally, we decline to sanction such a claim at the present time.” 13 F.3d at 805. In Shaw the family member was shot and killed and no 1983 claim could proceed. Here the family member was only detained in a heated car on a cold night for two hours. The senior Barnes’ have no § 1983 claim for any alleged constitutional tort involving their child.

B. Child’s claim

In contrast, Raymond Barnes, Jr. was directly affected by police conduct, i.e. he was detained. Because his detention involved a “seizure” by a police officer, proper analysis involves the Fourth, not the Fifth or Fourteenth, Amendments. See Graham, 490 U.S. 386, 394-95, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 1871, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989) (excessive force context); see also Albright v. Oliver, 510 U.S. 266, —, 114 S.Ct. 807, 811, 127 L.Ed.2d 114 (1994) (plurality) (pretrial deprivation of liberty context).

The Supreme Court’s analysis in Graham, while not directly applicable, is suggestive:

Today we ... hold that all

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Related

Greer v. ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD.
46 F. Supp. 2d 416 (D. Maryland, 1999)

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Bluebook (online)
932 F. Supp. 691, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9343, 1996 WL 384113, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barnes-v-maryland-national-capital-park-planning-commission-mdd-1996.