Hill v. Sharber

544 F. Supp. 2d 670, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15165, 2008 WL 586863
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Tennessee
DecidedFebruary 28, 2008
DocketNo. 3:06-cv-1002
StatusPublished

This text of 544 F. Supp. 2d 670 (Hill v. Sharber) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hill v. Sharber, 544 F. Supp. 2d 670, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15165, 2008 WL 586863 (M.D. Tenn. 2008).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

ALETA A. TRAUGER, District Judge.

Pending before the court is the motion for summary judgment filed by defendants Rebecca Sharber and Ricky Headley (Docket No. 17), to which the plaintiff has responded (Docket No. 32), and defendants Sharber and Headley have replied (Docket No. 35). Also pending is the motion for summary judgment filed by defendants Danny Booker and Andy Ryan (Docket No. 18), to which the plaintiff has responded (Docket No. 33), and defendants Booker and Ryan have replied (Docket No. 36). For the reasons discussed herein, the motion for summary judgment filed by defendants Sharber and Headley will granted, and the motion for summary judgment filed by defendants Booker and Ryan will be granted.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

During the 2005-2006 school year, Ky Hill attended Franklin High School (“FHS”), a public school in Williamson County, Tennessee.1

At all relevant times, the Williamson County Sheriffs Department (the “Sheriffs Department”) and the Williamson County Director of Schools had an arrangement whereby representatives of the Sheriffs Department would conduct random canine drug sweeps in the parking lots of Williamson County high schools. To preserve the integrity of the sweep process, neither the deputies who conducted the sweeps nor the schools themselves were given notice of a sweep until the morning of the day a sweep was to occur.

On the morning of October 21, 2005, Deputy Andy Ryan and Deputy Debbie Rogers, both canine drug officers employed by the Williamson County Sheriffs Department, were notified that they would be conducting a sweep of the parking lots at FHS that day. On their way to FHS to conduct the sweep, Deputy Ryan called ahead to inform Deputy Danny Booker, a school resource officer employed by the Williamson County Sheriffs Department and assigned to FHS, that Deputies Ryan and Rogers would be conducting a sweep at FHS that day. When Deputies Ryan and Rogers arrived at FHS, they proceeded to conduct a sweep of the FHS parking lots using two trained drug dogs.2 Deputy [674]*674Booker and FHS Assistant Principal Todd Campbell were also present during the sweep.

During the course of the sweep of the Claude Yates Lot, the dog accompanying Deputy Ryan alerted to the possible presence of drugs in a white Mitsubishi Diamante. Deputy Booker ascertained that the car had been driven to school by Hill,3 and an FHS staff member removed Hill from class and escorted him to the Claude Yates Lot. Hill was informed of the positive alert, given his Miranda rights, and asked if he had drugs in the car.4 Deputy Ryan then handcuffed Hill’s hands behind his back.5 Hill complained that the handcuffs were too tight, at which point Deputy Booker removed the handcuffs and repositioned them with Hill’s hands in front of his body. Hill indicated that the handcuffs were no longer too tight, although his wrists were slightly red, but not cut or bruised.

The deputies proceeded to search the interior of Hill’s car, which took approximately ten minutes. Assistant Principal Campbell was also present during the search. During the search, Deputy Ryan found a duffel bag containing ten twelve-ounce bottles of beer in the car.6 Following the search, Hill was freed from the handcuffs, escorted back into the school, and issued a citation for underage possession of alcohol on school premises.

As a result of the citation issued to Hill, FHS initiated a process to determine what disciplinary measures would be appropriate to take against Hill. As Hill was a special education student, FHS scheduled a meeting to determine whether Hill’s conduct was a manifestation of his learning disability, as required under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). 20 U.S.C. § 1415(k)(l)(E). That meeting took place on October 24, 2005 (the “Manifestation Meeting”). Hill and his parents were provided with notice of the meeting, and all three attended the meeting. Also in attendance were FHS Assistant Principal Christian Niemeyer, a special education teacher, a school psychologist, and a general education teacher.

During the Manifestation Meeting, the group discussed Hill’s disability, his Individualized Education Plan (“IEP”), and his academic and special education records. They then addressed two questions specifically:7 whether Hill’s conduct was caused by or had a direct relationship to Hill’s disability, and whether Hill’s conduct was a direct result of FHS’s failure to implement Hill’s IEP. With respect to the first question, the group agreed that Hill’s conduct was not caused by, and did not have a direct relationship to, Hill’s disability. [675]*675With respect to the second question, the FHS teachers and staff agreed that Hill’s conduct was not a direct result of FHS’s failure to implement Hill’s IEP. Hill and his parents, however, indicated that they were not sure. Regardless, the group determined that Hill’s conduct was not a manifestation of his disability.8 Although they were provided with notice of their rights to appeal this determination under the IDEA, neither Hill nor his parents ever appealed the determination.

Following the Manifestation Meeting, Hill was disciplined in accordance with FHS’s zero-tolerance policy. Under that policy, students found to possess alcohol on school premises are placed at Williamson County’s Alternative Learning Center and suspended from extracurricular activities at FHS. For approximately one month, Hill attended classes at the Alternative Learning Center, where he continued to receive educational services in accordance with his IEP,9 and was suspended from the FHS hockey team. At the conclusion of one month, Hill returned to classes at FHS.

ANALYSIS

Hill asserts that the search of his car and his handcuffing during that search constituted violations of the Fourth Amendment. Hill additionally asserts violations of the federal Individual with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), violations of procedural and substantive due process and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment, conspiracy, and violations of a variety of state law provisions.10 The defendants have moved for summary judgment with respect to these claims.

I. Summary Judgment Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) provides that 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 as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). To prevail, the moving party must meet the burden of proving the absence of a genuine issue of material fact as to an essential element of the opposing party’s claim. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Logan v.

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Bluebook (online)
544 F. Supp. 2d 670, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15165, 2008 WL 586863, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hill-v-sharber-tnmd-2008.