Longstreet v. Wells

CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedJuly 11, 2022
Docket3:22-cv-00065
StatusUnknown

This text of Longstreet v. Wells (Longstreet v. Wells) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Longstreet v. Wells, (D. Nev. 2022).

Opinion

3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

4 DISTRICT OF NEVADA

5 * * *

6 ANTHONY O. LONGSTREET, SR., Case No. 3:22-cv-00065-MMD-CLB

7 Plaintiff, ORDER v. 8 DAVID P. WELLS, et al., 9 Defendants. 10 11 I. SUMMARY 12 Pro se Plaintiff Anthony O. Longstreet, Sr., who was incarcerated in the custody of 13 the Nevada Department of Corrections (“NDOC”), brings this action against Defendants 14 David P. Wells, Hayden Solis, P. Salinas, P. Aguilar, and Detective Knickerbocker under 15 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Before the Court is United States Magistrate Judge Carla L. Baldwin’s 16 Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 2 (“R&R”)), recommending that the Court grant 17 Longstreet’s application to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 1 (“IFP Application”)), and 18 dismiss the case without prejudice and without leave to amend. Longstreet timely filed an 19 objection (ECF No. 3 (“Objection”)) and a motion for leave to amend (ECF No. 4 20 (“Motion”)) with an attached first amended complaint (ECF No. 4-1 (“Proposed FAC”)). 21 As further explained below, the Court overrules Longstreet’s Objection, adopts the R&R 22 except for the recommendation to not permit amendment, and denies the Motion, but will 23 grant Longstreet leave to cure the deficiencies in the Proposed FAC. 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 28 2 On August 7, 2019, Longstreet pled no contest to a domestic violence charge and 3 was ordered to pay over $1000 in fines and fees as part of his sentencing. (ECF No. 3 at 4 1.) Longstreet allegedly failed to pay the fines and was arrested on March 1, 2020. (ECF 5 Nos. 1-1 at 2, 3 at 2-3, 4-1 at 3.) At the time of the arrest, Longstreet was also being 6 investigated by Wells for a different, unrelated battery that he committed at a Dotty’s 7 restaurant on December 6, 2019 (“Dotty’s Incident”). (ECF No. 3 at 2.) Longstreet alleges 8 that officers Aguilar, Salinas, and Solis, used the arrest to confiscate Longstreet’s 9 cellphone, with the purpose of collecting evidence against him for the Dotty’s Incident. 10 (ECF Nos. 1-1 at 2-3, 3 at 2-3, 7-8.) Wells then allegedly performed an unlawful, 11 warrantless search of Longstreet’s cellphone, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. (ECF 12 Nos. 1-1 at 2, 3 at 3.) 13 After he was arrested and in city jail for the unpaid fines, Longstreet claims that 14 Wells and Knickerbocker visited his cell. (ECF Nos. 1-1 at 4, 3 at 3.) As part of their 15 ongoing investigation for the Dotty’s Incident, they allegedly made an unauthorized 16 recording of their conversation, in violation of Longstreet’s constitutional rights. (Id.) Wells 17 intended to use the recorded interview to “support probable cause to charge [Longstreet] 18 for the battery” at Dotty’s. (ECF No. 3 at 6.) Longstreet eventually pled guilty to the Dotty’s 19 Incident, was sentenced, and has recently been released.2 (Id. at 3.) 20 Longstreet filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit against Defendants for the illegal search 21 and seizure of his cellphone and the unauthorized jail cell recording. (ECF No. 1-1.) In his 22 Complaint, he asserts a Fourth Amendment claim for the illegal search and seizure of his 23 cellphone, a Fourth Amendment claim for invasion of privacy, and a Sixth Amendment 24 1The facts in this section are adapted from Longstreet’s Complaint and Objection. 25 (ECF Nos. 1-1, 3.) Longstreet’s Objection offers several clarifying details that were missing from the Complaint. For the purposes of screening, the Court only takes the facts 26 in the Complaint as true, but also considers Longstreet’s arguments in the Objection when deciding whether leave to amend should be granted. 27 2It appears from Longstreet’s allegations that when the Complaint was filed and 28 the R&R was issued, Longstreet was still serving his sentence for the Dotty’s Incident. (ECF No. 3 at 3.) However, Longstreet has since finished his sentence and was released 2 Baldwin’s R&R, Longstreet filed a motion for leave to amend with an attached Proposed 3 FAC, wherein he asserts additional claims, including Fourteenth Amendment Due 4 Process, Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection, and 42 U.S.C. § 1985 conspiracy 5 claims. (ECF Nos. 4, 4-1.) 6 III. LEGAL STANDARD 7 This Court “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or 8 recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Where a party 9 timely objects to a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, the Court is required 10 to “make a de novo determination of those portions of the [report and recommendation] 11 to which objection is made.” Id. The Court’s review is thus de novo because Longstreet 12 filed his Objection. (ECF No. 3.) 13 IV. DISCUSSION 14 The Court first addresses the Fourth Amendment claim for illegal search and 15 seizure and the Sixth Amendment claim in Longstreet’s Complaint, which it finds are 16 barred by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). The Court next considers Longstreet’s 17 Fourth Amendment claim for invasion of privacy, which must be dismissed because he 18 does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in his jail cell. Finally, the Court 19 examines Longstreet’s new claims in the Proposed FAC, which include his conspiracy to 20 interfere with civil rights and Fourteenth Amendment claims. Because Longstreet failed 21 to state colorable Fourteenth Amendment and conspiracy claims, the Court dismisses the 22 claims without prejudice but will grant Longstreet leave to cure the deficiencies. 23 A. Heck-Barred Claims 24 To start, Longstreet specifically objects3 to Judge Baldwin’s recommendation that 25 his case should be dismissed because he is challenging his state court criminal 26 conviction. (ECF No. 3 at 3-5.) Longstreet contends that he is not using § 1983 to 27 challenge his conviction because he has already pled guilty and served his sentence. (Id.) 28 3As to the remaining portions of the R&R that Longstreet did not object to, the Court 2 search and seizure of his cellphone under the Fourth and Sixth Amendments. (Id. at 3, 3 6.) The Court agrees with Judge Baldwin that these constitutional claims are Heck-barred. 4 The U.S. Supreme Court held that in a § 1983 lawsuit for damages,4 “the district 5 court must consider whether a judgment in favor of the plaintiff would necessarily imply 6 the invalidity of his conviction or sentence; if it would, the complaint must be dismissed 7 unless the plaintiff can demonstrate that the conviction or sentence has already been 8 invalidated.” Heck, 512 U.S. at 487. If the court finds that “the plaintiff's action, even if 9 successful, will not demonstrate the invalidity of any outstanding criminal judgment 10 against the plaintiff, the action should be allowed to proceed, in the absence of some 11 other bar to the suit.” Id. However, the Supreme Court in Heck left open whether this rule 12 applied to a Fourth Amendment unreasonable search claim. See Whitaker v. Garcetti, 13 486 F.3d 572, 583 (9th Cir. 2007) (citing Heck, 512 U.S. at 487 n.7). 14 Longstreet maintains that his Fourth Amendment claim is not barred because he 15 already pled guilty to the Dotty’s Incident and his sentence expired in May 2022.5 (ECF 16 No. 3 at 3.) In Byrd v. Phx.

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Longstreet v. Wells, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/longstreet-v-wells-nvd-2022.