James W. Mensh, Bennie P. Mensh v. R.A. Dyer, M.G. Tsoleas, Jr., C.M. Chidester, Jr., and Ted Banholzer, Gerald C. Fayed

956 F.2d 36
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 13, 1992
Docket90-2913
StatusPublished
Cited by53 cases

This text of 956 F.2d 36 (James W. Mensh, Bennie P. Mensh v. R.A. Dyer, M.G. Tsoleas, Jr., C.M. Chidester, Jr., and Ted Banholzer, Gerald C. Fayed) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
James W. Mensh, Bennie P. Mensh v. R.A. Dyer, M.G. Tsoleas, Jr., C.M. Chidester, Jr., and Ted Banholzer, Gerald C. Fayed, 956 F.2d 36 (4th Cir. 1992).

Opinions

OPINION

STAKER, District Judge:

In the early morning hours of April 4, 1989, a joint state and federal arrest team attempted to execute a warrant against James William Mensh at his home in Chris-tiansburg, Virginia. It was a case of mistaken identity; the warrant was meant for his son, who has the same name. As a result of that incident, James and Bennie Mensh brought a federal civil rights action, and related state claims, against three state police officers and one FBI agent. The district court denied the state defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and the State of Virginia now appeals.

The issue before us is whether the district court erred in denying the Virginia State Police officers’ motion for summary judgment seeking qualified immunity. Facts

A federal grand jury handed down a 17-count indictment charging James William Mensh, among others, with drug trafficking crimes. The indictment also required the forfeiture of a vehicle owned by James [38]*38William Mensh. A warrant was issued on the basis of the indictment and a joint state and federal arrest team was directed to execute it. The arrest team included Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Ted Banholzer and Virginia State Police officers Randy A. Dyer, M. George Tso-leas, Jr., and Calvin M. Chidester. The team received an arrest packet which contained a brief description of the suspect and his address, but included no birth date or social security number. It also contained photo copies of two photographs which had not reproduced clearly. On the morning of the arrest Officer Dyer learned from the Department of Motor Vehicles that a valid driver’s license had been issued in the name of James William Mensh which showed him to be 56 years old.

About 6:00 a.m. on April 4, 1989, the team assembled outside the home of James and Bennie Mensh. The state officers were armed and wore casual clothes and blue all-weather jackets boldly marked in yellow with state police insignia. Agent Banholzer was also armed and wore a sport coat with his badge clipped to the front pocket. The officers strategically stationed themselves around the doorways, then hammered on the front door with the metal door knocker.

Inside, the Menshs were asleep. Bennie Mensh was awakened by a knock and in turn woke her husband, saying that someone was at the front door. He called out the window but did not hear a response. He went downstairs to investigate and saw through the window the silhouette of a man with a shotgun. He rushed back upstairs to telephone 911, to contact the local police. The officers outside heard the sound of running feet and called out “Police! We have a warrant!” or something to that effect. Seconds later, they broke down the front door.

As the arrest team was securing the ground floor, Lt. James A. Epperley of the Christiansburg Police Department arrived in response to the Menshs’ 911 call. He found the arrest team officers positioned with guns aimed upstairs at the bedroom door. They were yelling, swearing and ordering Mr. Mensh to come downstairs with his hands up. Lt. Epperley told them he knew Mr. Mensh and would talk to him. He identified himself to Mr. Mensh, who immediately opened the door and started down the steps with his hands at his sides. One of the agents repeatedly told Mr. Mensh to raise his hands, which he did only when he got to the bottom of the stairs. They grabbed him, pushed him against the wall and handcuffed him.

The agents informed him they had a federal warrant for his arrest. At that point, Mr. Mensh said they did not want him, they wanted his son. Someone showed the photograph from the arrest packet to Mrs. Mensh, who had followed her husband downstairs, and she identified it as a picture of her son. Mr. Mensh asked the officers to remove the handcuffs but the FBI agent refused. He said that he was securing the scene and would not remove the handcuffs until Mr. Mensh had become more composed, he being deemed by the F.B.I. agent to be in an extremely agitated state. The officers questioned the Menshs about their son and his whereabouts and then released Mr. Mensh. They asked Lt. Epperley to stay at the scene to prevent the Menshs from warning their son, but he refused. The arrest team then left the house and drove to Roanoke where they successfully arrested James William Mensh, Jr.

The incident engendered some publicity. James and Bennie Mensh brought a civil rights action against FBI Special Agent Banholzer and Virginia State Police Special Agents Dyer, Tsoleas and Chidester. The complaint alleged four state counts — slander, assault and battery, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress — in addition to a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court dismissed the claim against Federal Agent Banholzer, but denied the state defendants’ motion for summary judgment, holding that they had failed to establish their claim of qualified immunity. The Virginia defendants appealed.

[39]*39 Analysis

I

42 U.S.C. § 1983 allows recovery for plaintiffs who are denied their federal civil rights by someone acting “under color of state law.” If there is no deprivation of federal rights, the inquiry ends. If a violation has occurred, a suit may still be barred by the state official's qualified immunity. See Torchinsky v. Siwinski, 942 F.2d 257, 261 (4th Cir.1991).

Qualified immunity is an “entitlement not to stand trial or face the other burdens of litigation” and is essentially irreclaimable once a case is allowed to go to trial. Accordingly, the denial of a motion for summary judgment based on a claim of qualified immunity is a “final decision” for purposes of appellate review. Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 2817, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985).

The court of appeals must review the summary judgment motion under the same standard used by the trial court. If there is no genuine issue of material fact, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Proper review, under Fed. R.Civ.P. 56, encompasses the entire summary judgment record, viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs. Turner v. Dammon, 848 F.2d 440, 443-444 (4th Cir.1988).

The state police officers are entitled to summary judgment on the ground of qualified immunity if they can establish that reasonable officers could have believed that their actions were lawful in light of both clearly established law and the information the officers possessed at the time. Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 641, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 3039-3040, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987). We inquire into the “objective legal reasonableness” of the actions; the officers’ subjective beliefs are irrelevant. Id. at 639, 107 S.Ct. at 3038 (citing Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982)) and 483 U.S. at 641, 107 S.Ct. at 3039-3040.

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Bluebook (online)
956 F.2d 36, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/james-w-mensh-bennie-p-mensh-v-ra-dyer-mg-tsoleas-jr-cm-ca4-1992.