Church of Universal Love & Music v. Fayette County

892 F. Supp. 2d 736, 2012 WL 3779171, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124359
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 31, 2012
DocketNo. 10-1422
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 892 F. Supp. 2d 736 (Church of Universal Love & Music v. Fayette County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Church of Universal Love & Music v. Fayette County, 892 F. Supp. 2d 736, 2012 WL 3779171, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124359 (W.D. Pa. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

DONETTA W. AMBROSE, Senior District Judge.

SYNOPSIS

This civil action rests, in part, on the allegedly improper execution of an “all persons present” search warrant on Plaintiffs property. Plaintiffs claim that Defendants violated their First Amendment rights by applying the search warrant to “violently search” plaintiffs for engaging in protected speech and religious association (Count I); and violated their Fourth Amendment rights by subjecting them to search and detention without probable cause or reasonable suspicion (Counts II and III).1 Before the Court is Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, seeking a judgment that the search warrant was invalid. Also before the Court is .Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendant seeks a judgment that the search warrant was valid, and also seeks judgment in its favor on Plaintiffs’ various claims for relief. For the following reasons, Plaintiffs Motion will be granted, and Defendant’s granted in part and denied in part.

OPINION

I. APPLICABLE STANDARDS

Summary judgment shall be granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to [743]*743judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). In considering a motion for summary judgment, the Court must examine the facts in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. International Raw Materials, Ltd. v. Stauffer Chem. Co., 898 F.2d 946, 949 (3d Cir.1990). The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of any genuine issues of material fact. United States v. Omnicare, Inc., 382 F.3d 432 (3d Cir.2004).

Rule 56, however, mandates the entry of judgment against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The sum of the affirmative evidence to be presented by the non-moving party must be such that a reasonable jury could find in its favor; it cannot simply reiterate unsupported assertions, conclusory allegations, or suspicious beliefs. Groman v. Township of Manalapan, 47 F.3d 628, 633 (3d Cir.1995).

I. SEARCH WARRANT

Before reaching the validity of the search warrant, I take note of Defendant’s contention that the Fourth Amendment is not implicated by the facts of this case, because there was no reasonable expectation of privacy in the public CULM property searched. I do not, however, understand Plaintiffs’ claim to challenge the search of the CULM property. Instead, it appears that Plaintiffs’ challenge is limited to the “all persons” aspect of the warrant, by which the individuals were searched or detained, and the resulting searches and seizures. Plaintiffs address the public nature and large size of the CULM property, and the geographic breadth of the warrant, in the context of whether it was appropriate to authorize a search of all persons present on that property. Defendants do not contend, and nor could they, that the individual Plaintiffs do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their bodies that implicates the Fourth Amendment. Accordingly, I need not reach Defendants’ contentions regarding the scope of the CULM property searched.

Thus, I must address Plaintiffs’ assertion that the “all persons present” warrant, pursuant to which they were searched or detained, was not supported by probable cause.2 When reviewing an initial probable cause determination, the reviewing court should consider only the affidavit before the issuing judge, and should not consider other information of record. United States v. Miknevich, 638 F.3d 178, 182 (3d Cir.2011); United States v. Hodge, 246 F.3d 301, 305 (3d Cir.2001). Thus, “[t]he focus should be on what the affidavit includes, rather than on what it does not include.” Leveto v. Lapina, 98-143, 2000 WL 331902, at *9, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1972, at *25 (W.D.Pa. Feb. 5, 2000).

[744]*744The Fourth Amendment provides as follows: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” U.S. Const, amend. IV. “It is the warrant requirement that protects the individual’s legitimate expectation of privacy against the overzealous police officer.” United States v. Abbott, 584 F.Supp. 442, 446 (W.D.Pa.1984).

An “all persons” warrant presents probable cause issues, rather than particularity issues. A reviewing court has the duty to ensure that the issuing judicial officer had a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238-39, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). “The substance of all the definitions of probable cause is a reasonable ground for belief of guilt.” Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 93 L.Ed. 1879 (1949). The United States Supreme Court has held that generalized statements, such as those regarding “the special circumstances of today’s drug culture,” may not substitute for individualized evaluation of whether the Fourth Amendment’s requirements are satisfied. Richards v. Wisconsin, 520 U.S. 385, 392, 117 S.Ct. 1416, 137 L.Ed.2d 615 (1997).

In State v. De Simone, 60 N.J. 319, 288 A.2d 849, 850 (1972),3 the Supreme Court of New Jersey set out what has become the leading approach to “all persons” warrants:

On principle, the sufficiency of a warrant to search persons identified only by their presence at a specified place should depend upon the facts. A showing that lottery slips are sold in a department store or an industrial plant obviously would not justify a warrant to search every person on the premises, for there would be no probable cause to believe that everyone there was participating in the illegal operation. On the other hand, a showing that a dice game is operated in a manhole or in a barn should suffice, for the reason that the place is so limited and the illegal operation so overt that it is likely that everyone present is a party to the offense. Such a setting furnishes not only probable cause but also a designation of the persons to be searched which functionally is as precise as a dimensional portrait of them.
.... So long as there is good reason to suspect or believe that anyone present at the anticipated scene will probably be a participant, presence becomes the descriptive fact satisfying the aim of the Fourth Amendment.

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Bluebook (online)
892 F. Supp. 2d 736, 2012 WL 3779171, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124359, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/church-of-universal-love-music-v-fayette-county-pawd-2012.