Blackwell v. Strain

496 F. App'x 836
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided September 11, 2012·No. 11-2078·Unpublished·Cited by 12 cases

Opinions

ORDER AND JUDGMENT*

MICHAEL R. MURPHY, Circuit Judge.

I. Introduction

Curtis Blackwell, a commercial truck driver, claimed he was stopped, detained, subjected to a heightened inspection level, and issued a citation at the Lordsburg, New Mexico, Port of Entry (“POE”) because he is black. Blackwell filed a civil-rights lawsuit against, inter alia, Ben Strain, the New Mexico Motor Transportation Division (“MTD”) officer with whom he interacted at the POE. In his complaint, Blackwell alleged, among other things, a violation of his right to equal protection under the law. Officer Strain moved for summary judgment, asserting qualified immunity. After the district court denied his motion, Officer Strain appealed. The district court erred in denying summary judgment to Officer Strain because, under Blackwell’s version of the facts that have record support, Officer Strain did not violate his right to equal protection under the law. Accordingly, exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court reverses and remands to the district court with instructions to grant summary judgment to Officer Strain.

II. Background

New Mexico requires all commercial motor carriers to stop at designated ports of entry. As vehicles proceed through the POE, an MTD officer stationed at a POE window either directs the driver to proceed without an inspection or directs the driver into the POE parking lot for an inspection. MTD officers inspect commercial vehicles and accompanying documentation to determine whether the vehicles, [838] drivers, and cargo are in compliance with state law.

MTD officers perform three levels of inspections, with a Level I inspection being the most thorough. Level I inspections are not at issue in this case. Officers not scheduled to conduct Level I inspections exercise their discretion in selecting between Level II and Level III inspections. A Level II inspection allows an MTD officer to review a driver’s documents, including the log book and drivers license, and conduct safety checks of the cab, trailer, equipment, and components. A Level III inspection is limited to a review of the driver’s documents and cargo verification.

On August 15, 2008, Blackwell, who was driving a tractor-trailer on Interstate 10, entered the POE. When Blackwell pulled up to the POE window, Officer Strain directed him to pull his vehicle out of line and proceeded to conduct a Level II inspection. During the inspection, Officer Strain discovered an unopened bottle of gin and an unopened pack of beer in an outside storage compartment of the trailer. Possession of alcohol under these circumstances was a violation of New Mexico transportation regulations. As a penalty for the violation, Officer Strain ordered Blackwell to remove his tractor-trailer from service for twenty-four hours and assessed a $250 penalty.

Blackwell, who is black, claimed he was subjected to selective law enforcement because of his race and filed an equal-protection-based civil rights lawsuit against Officer Strain. Officer Strain claimed Blackwell’s race played no part in his decision to detain Blackwell, perform a Level II inspection, or issue Blackwell a citation. He asserted he was not yet aware of Blackwell’s race when he decided to perform a Level II inspection on Blackwell’s tractor-trailer. He also claimed the citation he issued Blackwell was mandatory. Officer Strain filed a motion for summary judgment claiming, among other things, he was entitled to qualified immunity because Blackwell had not shown a violation of a clearly established constitutional right.

In support of his claim, Blackwell presented evidence he asserts shows both discriminatory effect and discriminatory purpose on the part of Officer Strain. This evidence includes Blackwell’s account of his experience at the POE, statistical evidence presented by an expert witness, statements provided by other black truck drivers who said they were discriminated against by MTD officers at the POE because of their race, and evidence that state and federal narcotics agents and individuals at the federal public defenders office believed racial profiling was occurring at the POE.

The district court denied Officer Strain’s motion for summary judgment. The court concluded Blackwell came forward with evidence sufficient to create genuine issues of material fact as to racially discriminatory effect and racially discriminatory purpose. It also concluded Blackwell’s right not to be subjected to racially selective law enforcement was clearly established on August 15, 2008. Officer Strain appeals, arguing he is entitled to qualified immunity because, under Blackwell’s version of the facts that have record support, he did not violate Blackwell’s clearly established constitutional rights.

III. Standard of Review

“Because this is an interlocutory appeal from a denial of summary judgment, our jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 is limited.” Bowling v. Rector, 584 F.3d 956, 963 (10th Cir.2009). The denial of a summary judgment motion is generally not an ap-pealable final order under § 1291. Id. “Such a denial is subject to appeal, however, when the defendants are public officials [839] asserting a qualified immunity defense and the appealed issue is whether a given set of facts establishes that defendants violated clearly established law.” Id. (quotation omitted); see also Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 311, 115 S.Ct. 2151, 132 L.Ed.2d 238 (1995); Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 528, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985).

Thus, this court may consider Officer Strain’s appeal but “only insofar as it presents neat abstract issues of law.” Bowling, 584 F.3d at 963 (quotation omitted). Officer Strain “may not appeal the district court’s summary judgment order insofar as that order determines whether or not the pretrial record sets forth a genuine issue of fact for trial.” Id. (quotations and alteration omitted). Furthermore, “it is not our province to determine whether the record supports the district court’s factual assumptions.” Id. (quotation omitted). “[Ijnstead, we simply take, as given, the facts that the district court assumed when it denied summary judgment for a purely legal reason.” Id. (quotations omitted).

This court reviews the district court’s denial of a summary judgment motion asserting qualified immunity de novo, applying the same legal standard as the district court. Id. Summary judgment is appropriate “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. 56(a). The evidence is considered in the light most favorable to Blackwell, the non-moving party. Bowling, 584 F.3d at 964.

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