Jordan v. Town of Pratt

886 F. Supp. 555, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7218, 1995 WL 318782
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. West Virginia
DecidedMay 24, 1995
DocketNo. 2:94-0682
StatusPublished

This text of 886 F. Supp. 555 (Jordan v. Town of Pratt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jordan v. Town of Pratt, 886 F. Supp. 555, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7218, 1995 WL 318782 (S.D.W. Va. 1995).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

HADEN, Chief Judge.

Pending is the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs have responded and Defendants have replied. This ease is ripe for adjudication.

Plaintiffs filed their complaint in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County. The Defendants then removed the matter to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b) (1991). Plaintiffs’ complaint may be divided into two parts: (a) the claims of Charles Jordan arising from his allegations of false arrest, and (b) the claims of Linda Jordan arising from an alleged violation of her right to privacy by defendant Williams’ communication of her daughter’s sexual assault.

I.

Charles Jordan contends Mark March, a police officer for the Town of Pratt, West Virginia, violated his civil rights by arresting him June 21,1993 on a charge of impersonating a police officer. Complaint at He contends he “was employed as [sic] by the Air National Guard ... to function as a military police officer one weekend per month, two weeks of the year and any other occasions when [he] was on active duty, and [he] served as a police/security guard for the Adjutant General of West Virginia the remainder of [his] employment.” Affidavit of Charles Jordan at ¶2. He asserts March and defendant Williams came to his home on June 19, 1993 in response to a complaint concerning a neighbor’s dog. Complaint at ¶^1. Mr. Jordan contends March inquired where he was employed, and when informed Jordan was employed by the Air National Guard, March began “rudely interrogating” [557]*557him, accused him of lying, and unsuccessfully attempted to take his badge. Id. at ¶ IX. Mr. Jordan further contends March informed him he was going to check his credentials as a police officer and if he determined they were not legitimate, he would return and arrest Jordan. Id. at ¶X. Mr. Jordan asserts March telephoned a Lieutenant Colonel Johnson of the Air National Guard to determine whether Jordan was a police officer and Johnson informed March that Jordan was a police officer. Id. at XIII.

Mr. Jordan contends that despite knowing Jordan was a police officer, Officer March, with the approval of Chief of Police Williams, swore out a false complaint and warrant for Jordan’s arrest on a charge of impersonating a police officer. Id. at XIV. Thereafter, Officer March arrested Jordan. Jordan spent approximately four hours in custody. The charge was dropped six weeks later.

II.

The Court must examine whether defendants are protected from suit by the doctrine of qualified immunity. In Wiley v. Doory, 14 F.3d 993, 995 (4th Cir.1994) our Court of Appeals discussed generally the application of qualified immunity as follows:

“Qualified immunity shields a governmental official from liability for civil monetary damages if the officer’s ‘conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.’ Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2738, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982) (citations and footnote omitted). ‘In determining whether the specific right allegedly violated was “clearly established,” the proper focus is not upon the right at its most general or abstract level, but at the level of its application to the specific conduct being challenged.’ Pritchett v. Alford, 973 F.2d 307, 312 (4th Cir.1992) (citations omitted). Moreover, ‘the manner in which this [clearly established] right applies to the actions of the official must also be apparent.’ Maciariello v. Sumner, 973 F.2d 295, 298 (4th Cir.1992) (citing Tarantino v. Baker, 825 F.2d 772, 774-75 (4th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1010, 109 S.Ct. 1117, 103 L.Ed.2d 180 (1989)), cert. denied,—U.S.-, 113 S.Ct. 1048, 122 L.Ed.2d 356 (1993). As such, if there is a ‘legitimate question’ as to whether an official’s conduct constitutes a constitutional violation, the official is entitled to qualified immunity. Tarantino, 825 F.2d at 775.”

See Reynolds v. Hale, 855 F.Supp. 147, 149 (S.D.W.Va.1994) (Haden, C.J.).

The test for determining whether qualified immunity is available for a particular defendant is an objectively reasonable one. Shaw v. Stroud, 13 F.3d 791, 801 (4th Cir.), cert. denied,—U.S.-, 115 S.Ct. 67, 130 L.Ed.2d 24, and cert. denied,— U.S.-, 115 S.Ct. 68, 130 L.Ed.2d 24 (1994). Describing application of the “objectively reasonable” qualified immunity test to actions of police officers, our Court of Appeals has observed:

“[0]fficers are entitled to qualified immunity when they rely on standard operating procedures, if that reliance is reasonable. Vizbaras v. Prieber, 761 F.2d 1013, 1015 (4th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1101, 106 S.Ct. 883, 88 L.Ed.2d 918 (1986). A police officer is entitled to prevail on an assertion of qualified immunity if a reasonable officer possessing the same information would have believed his conduct was lawful. Slattery v. Rizzo, 939 F.2d 213, 216 (4th Cir.1991).” Shaw v. Stroud, supra, 13 F.3d at 801.

See Gooden v. Howard County, Maryland, 954 F.2d 960, 965 (4th Cir.1992) (“[T]he basic purpose of qualified immunity ... is to spare individual officials the burdens and uncertainties of standing trial in those instances where their conduct would strike an objective observer as falling within the range of reasonable judgment. See Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 638, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 3038, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987) (qualified immunity necessary because ‘permitting damages suits against government officials can entail substantial social costs, including the risk that fear of personal monetary liability and harassing litigation will unduly inhibit officials in the discharge of their duties.’).”); Reynolds v. Hale, 855 F.Supp. at 149 (“ ‘The very idea of reasonableness requires that courts accord interpretative latitude to official judg[558]*558mente.’ Torchinsky [v. Siwinski ], 942 F.2d [257,] 261 [ (4th Cir.1991). ‘[T]he determination whether a reasonable person in the officer’s position would have known that his conduct would violate the right at issue must be made ... in light of any exigencies of time and circumstance that reasonably may have affected the officer’s perceptions.’ Pritchett v. Alford, 973 F.2d [at] 313[.]”). Accord, Browning v. Snead, 886 F.Supp. 547, 551 (S.D.W.Va.1995) (Haden, C.J.).

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Michigan v. DeFillippo
443 U.S. 31 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Harlow v. Fitzgerald
457 U.S. 800 (Supreme Court, 1982)
Anderson v. Creighton
483 U.S. 635 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Norman Slattery v. Christopher Rizzo
939 F.2d 213 (Fourth Circuit, 1991)
Gooden v. Howard County, Maryland
954 F.2d 960 (Fourth Circuit, 1992)
Cordle v. General Hugh Mercer Corp.
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Crump v. Beckley Newspapers, Inc.
320 S.E.2d 70 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1984)
Roach v. Harper
105 S.E.2d 564 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1958)
Browning v. Snead
886 F. Supp. 547 (S.D. West Virginia, 1995)
Reynolds v. Hale
855 F. Supp. 147 (S.D. West Virginia, 1994)
Shaw v. Stroud
13 F.3d 791 (Fourth Circuit, 1994)
Wiley v. Doory
14 F.3d 993 (Fourth Circuit, 1994)
Wilkes v. Young
28 F.3d 1362 (Fourth Circuit, 1994)
Vizbaras v. Prieber
761 F.2d 1013 (Fourth Circuit, 1985)
Tarantino v. Baker
825 F.2d 772 (Fourth Circuit, 1987)
Maciariello v. Sumner
973 F.2d 295 (Fourth Circuit, 1992)
Pritchett v. Alford
973 F.2d 307 (Fourth Circuit, 1992)
Rainey v. Conerly
973 F.2d 321 (Fourth Circuit, 1992)
Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles
489 U.S. 1010 (Supreme Court, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
886 F. Supp. 555, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7218, 1995 WL 318782, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jordan-v-town-of-pratt-wvsd-1995.