John A. Jenkins v. James Gaither

543 F. App'x 894
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedOctober 4, 2013
Docket12-15631
StatusUnpublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 543 F. App'x 894 (John A. Jenkins v. James Gaither) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John A. Jenkins v. James Gaither, 543 F. App'x 894 (11th Cir. 2013).

Opinions

PER CURIAM:

This appeal presents two questions: (1) whether a law enforcement officer who had received a report of erratic driving and who had identified the vehicle being driven erratically had arguable reasonable suspicion to stop that vehicle and question its driver; and (2) whether officers who had received a report from an off-duty officer [895]*895about a vehicle weaving across the road and who had later determined that the driver had first denied, but later admitted, that he had consumed an alcoholic beverage that evening, had placed smokeless tobacco in his mouth, and refused to take a field sobriety test had arguable probable cause to arrest the driver for driving under the influence. Deputy James Gaither of the Butts County Sheriffs Office stopped John Jenkins after he received a report Jenkins’s vehicle was being driven erratically. Gaither and Deputy John Acosta arrested Jenkins for driving under the influence. Jenkins later submitted to a test of his blood for alcohol, and the charges against him were dropped. Jenkins sued Gaither and Acosta and alleged that they had violated his right to be free of unreasonable seizures under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. See U.S. Const. Amends. IV, XIV; 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court granted a summary judgment in favor of Gaither and Acosta based on qualified immunity. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

John Jenkins consumed a single beer with dinner between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. on October 13, 2009. Around 10:00 p.m., Jenkins drove home through Butts County, Georgia. Wil Smith, an off duty officer of the Department of Natural Resources officer and a peace officer in Georgia, observed Jenkins driving slowly through Smith’s neighborhood. Because he knew that there had been several break-ins in the area, Smith followed Jenkins. Smith observed Jenkins driving erratically and crossing the lines on the road. Jenkins turned north on Highway 42, and Smith followed him because he was travelling in the same direction. Smith observed that Jenkins continued to travel at an unusually slow rate and weave over the roadway. Based on his training as a law enforcement officer, Smith concluded that Jenkins was impaired. Smith called 911 and reported this information to the operator. Smith stayed on the phone with the operator and gave updates on his location.

Deputy James Gaither of the Butts County Sheriffs Office responded when the dispatcher relayed the report of a vehicle that was all over the roadway, and his entire pursuit and interaction with Jenkins were recorded by the camera on the dash of his patrol vehicle. When Gaither caught up with Jenkins and Smith, Smith pulled to the side of the road and reported that the vehicle directly in front of him was the one that had been weaving. Gaither followed Jenkins for about 25 seconds. Gaither turned on his blue lights, and Jenkins pulled over to the side of the road.

Gaither approached the passenger side of Jenkins’s truck and told him that he had pulled him over because he had received a report that he was weaving and all over the roadway. Gaither asked Jenkins to exit the vehicle and stand behind the rear of the truck, and Jenkins complied. Gaither asked Jenkins if he had anything to drink that night, and Jenkins responded, “No.” Gaither then asked, “None, whatsoever?” and Jenkins responded, “Nope.” Gaither asked if Jenkins drank alcoholic beverages, and Jenkins said that he did. Gaither asked, “When was the last time you consumed alcohol?” Jenkins responded, “ ‘Bout four hours ago.”

Gaither returned to his vehicle and reported the information from Jenkins’s driver’s license to the dispatcher. While Gaither waited for a response from the dispatcher, Jenkins reached into his pocket and pulled out smokeless tobacco. Gaither yelled from his vehicle, “Do not put any dip in your mouth.”

[896]*896Gaither then joined Jenkins behind his truck and said, “To make sure that you’re safe to drive on the roadway, there’s a few exercises that I would like for you to perform.” Jenkins asked Gaither whether he was certified to administer a field sobriety test. Jenkins then insisted that he was not drunk and that the field sobriety test was voluntary. Without confirming that Gaither was not certified, Jenkins said that he was “not going to do” the field sobriety test.

Gaither asked Deputy John Acosta to assist him, and after about four minutes, Deputy John Acosta arrived. Gaither explained what had happened to Acosta, and Acosta explained to Jenkins why he had been pulled over. Acosta asked Jenkins to remove the smokeless tobacco in his mouth, and Jenkins reached into his mouth and removed some smokeless tobacco.

After Acosta spoke to Jenkins, Gaither and Acosta met next to Gaither’s patrol car. Acosta contacted the dispatcher and asked who had reported the erratic driving. The dispatcher responded that the report came from “DNR 319,” which indicated that the report came from an officer of the Department of Natural Resources with the badge number 319. Acosta responded, “Really? Okay.” Another officer who had responded for backup then asked who reported the erratic driving, and Acosta replied, “Wil Smith.”

Acosta called Smith and asked about what he had observed. After his call with Smith, Acosta told the other officers that Smith had observed Jenkins weaving back and forth and failing to maintain his lane. Acosta also reported that Smith had agreed to write a statement about what he had observed.

Gaither and Acosta arrested Jenkins for driving under the influence. Acosta explained to Jenkins that his driving had been reported by an off duty officer and that he was under arrest for driving under the influence and failing to maintain a lane. The deputies took Jenkins to the Butts County jail, and he submitted to a blood alcohol test. Jenkins requested and paid for his own blood alcohol test. The results of Jenkins’s blood test showed that he had no alcohol in his system. The charges against Jenkins were dropped.

Jenkins complained that Gaither and Acosta violated his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment right to be free from unconstitutional searches and seizures. Jenkins argued that Gaither lacked reasonable suspicion to pull him over and that Gaither and Acosta lacked probable cause to arrest him. Gaither and Acosta moved for summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity, and the district court granted a summary judgment in favor of Gaither and Acosta because Gaither had arguable reasonable suspicion to stop Jenkins and Gaither and Acosta had arguable probable cause to arrest Jenkins.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

‘We review a district court’s grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment de novo.” Myers v. Bowman, 713 F.3d 1319, 1326 (11th Cir.2013) (quoting Harris v. Bd. of Educ. of Atlanta, 105 F.3d 591, 595 (11th Cir.1997)).

III. DISCUSSION

We divide our discussion of this appeal in two parts. First, we explain that Gaither had arguable reasonable suspicion to stop Jenkins. Second, we explain that Gaither and Acosta had arguable probable cause to arrest Jenkins.

A. Gaither Had Arguable Reasonable Suspicion to Stop Jenkins.

“When an officer asserts qualified immunity, the issue is not whether reasonable

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543 F. App'x 894, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-a-jenkins-v-james-gaither-ca11-2013.