Mitchell v. Stewart

26 F. Supp. 3d 1322, 2014 WL 2617275, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79872
District Court, M.D. Georgia·Decided June 12, 2014·No. Case No. 3:12-CV-132 (CDL)·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

ORDER

CLAY D. LAND, District Judge.

Lewis Grizzard, a Southern humorist and legendary columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, observed that there’s a big difference between the words “naked” and “nekkid”: “ ‘naked’ means you don’t have your clothes on. ‘Nekkid’ means you don’t have your clothes on and you’re up to something.”1 In this case, Plaintiffs claim that Defendants arrested and transported them to the jail with their breasts, buttocks, and genitalia exposed. Whether Plaintiffs were “up to something” before Defendants arrived at their home is irrelevant. If a jury believes that Plaintiffs were taken to jail substantially “naked,” that jury would be authorized to find that Defendants violated Plaintiffs’ clearly established Fourth Amendment rights. Accordingly, Defendants are not entitled to immunity.2

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Plaintiffs sued Defendants under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law, contending that Defendants violated their Fourth Amendment rights by entering their home without a warrant, arresting them without probable cause, and transporting them to the jail without allowing them to cover their breasts, buttocks, and genitalia. Defendants seek summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ federal law claims based on qualified immunity.3 Qualified immunity is a legal issue that ultimately must be decided by the Court as a matter of law, but any genuine factual disputes on which that legal determination is based must be resolved by a jury as the factfinder. Tolan v. Cotton, — U.S. -, 134 S.Ct. 1861, 1866, 188 L.Ed.2d 895 (2014) (per curiam).

As with any other summary judgment, summary judgment based on qualified immunity may be granted only “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). In determining whether a genuine dispute of material fact exists to defeat a motion for summary judgment, the evidence is viewed in the [1328] light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment, drawing all justifiable inferences in the opposing party’s favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A fact is material if it is relevant or necessary to the outcome of the suit. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A factual dispute is genuine if the evidence would allow a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Id. In the qualified immunity context, the Court must construe the factual record in favor of the plaintiff and determine whether that factual record would support a finding that the defendant’s conduct violated clearly established law, thus depriving him of qualified immunity. Tolan, 134 S.Ct. at 1866.

Defendants seem to argue in their briefs that the Court must act as the fact-finder. Focusing primarily on their version of the facts and disputing facts that are supported by the record, Defendants argue that the Court should discount Plaintiffs’ version of the facts and grant summary judgment based on Defendants’ version of what happened.4 To the extent that Defendants imply that the Court at summary judgment must evaluate which facts to believe or disbelieve, Defendants misunderstand Rule 56. Qualified immunity does not change the Rule 56 summary judgment analysis. The Court must still view the facts in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs and “may not resolve genuine disputes of fact in favor of the party seeking summary judgment.” Tolan, 134 S.Ct. at 1866.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, the record reveals the following.

Megan Mitchell and Nikki Beasley attended GED classes together at Athens Technical College. Mitchell invited Beasley to her home after class on October 14, 2010. Jackson, Mitchell’s boyfriend, picked up Mitchell and Beasley and drove them to the home, where he lived with Mitchell. After they arrived at the home, Mitchell drove Beasley to a convenience store called the Woodville Pantry, where Beasley purchased an alcoholic beverage. Beasley was sixteen years old, and Mitchell knew it.

Beasley drank the alcohol in Mitchell’s presence, and she took a pill outside Mitchell’s presence. Beasley began to feel sick, so she and Mitchell called Beasley’s aunt for help. Beasley’s aunt met Beasley and Mitchell- at the Woodville Pantry and took Beasley home. Beasley’s aunt decided that Beasley needed medical attention, so she called 911, and Beasley was transported to the hospital by ambulance.

Defendant Whirrell, a Greene County sheriffs deputy, and his supervisor Defendant Stewart, a corporal, interviewed Beasley’s aunt at the hospital. Beasley’s aunt told Stewart and Whirrell that Beasley was “messed up” and had told the aunt that “she done drank ... some alcohol and smoked some blunts.” Yearwood Dep. 30:23-31:11, EOF No. 46; accord id. at 36:5-12. The aunt also told the officers that Beasley had consumed the alcohol and smokéd the blunts while she was at Plaintiffs’ home in Mitchell’s care. Id. at 41:24-42:7. As far as the aunt knew, Beasley was alone with Mitchell at the house. Id. at 44:14-19. The aunt told the officers that Beasley had been at Plaintiffs’ house [1329] with Mitchell and that when Mitchell drove Beasley to the convenience store to meet her, no one else was with them. Id. at 45:2-13. The aunt did not tell the officers that Jackson was present at the convenience store or that Jackson gave Beasley alcohol or drugs. Id. at 3L14-24.5

After interviewing Beasley’s aunt, Stewart and Whirrell went to eat. Stewart called Defendant Maxey, another deputy under Stewart’s supervision, and asked him to meet Stewart and Whirrell at the Woodville Pantry to plan their next steps. The three officers decided to go to Plaintiffs’ residence to investigate a possible charge against Mitchell for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Defendants did not have an arrest warrant or a search warrant.

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Mitchell v. Stewart, 26 F. Supp. 3d 1322, 2014 WL 2617275, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79872 (M.D. Ga. 2014).

26 F. Supp. 3d 1322 (Mitchell v. Stewart) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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