Ray Bostic v. City of Chicago, James Pienta and William Marley

981 F.2d 965
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedJanuary 27, 1993
Docket91-2458
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 981 F.2d 965 (Ray Bostic v. City of Chicago, James Pienta and William Marley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ray Bostic v. City of Chicago, James Pienta and William Marley, 981 F.2d 965 (7th Cir. 1993).

Opinion

BAUER, Chief Judge.

Ray Bostic sued the City of Chicago (“the City”) and two Chicago Police Department Detectives, James Pienta and William Marley, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming that defendants violated his Fourth Amendment rights. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants and Bostic appealed. Because we find no violation of Bostic’s constitutional rights, we affirm.

I. Facts

On June 30, 1985, Curtis Cotton was shot to death outside the Illusion Lounge, a Chicago tavern. Lisa Hodges, Bostic’s ex-girlfriend, anonymously called the police and said that Bostic had killed Cotton. After the police traced the call to Hodges, she told them in an interview that she was at the Illusion Lounge on the night of the murder and that she saw Bostic lowering a gun after she heard gunfire. On July 3, 1985, the police arrested Bostic for the murder. The police conducted a search of Bostic’s apartment and found a .38 caliber gun, cartridges, and an empty holster. The police also discovered that Bostic had called in sick at work the morning after the shooting. This was something he did not usually do. After almost 24 hours, an assistant *967 state’s attorney, James Andreou, decided not to file charges against Bostic. Appellant’s Brief at 4. Pienta and Marley decided to keep Bostic in custody while the investigation continued. Id. This decision was consistent with Chicago Police Department policy. Finally, on July 5, 1985, at about 1:30 a.m., the police released Bostic.

After releasing Bostic, the Chicago police continued investigating the Cotton murder. The police interviewed several witnesses, all of whom gave varying descriptions of the person who killed Cotton. The description of at least one witness, Debra Wallace, described Cotton’s assailants as much shorter and younger than Bostic. See Appellant’s Brief at 5. Another witness, Steve Burks, claimed that he saw Bostic arguing with Cotton on the night of the murder.

Next, on August 5, 1985, Pienta re-arrested Bostic. Unlike the first arrest, this time an assistant state’s attorney decided to file murder charges against Bostic. On August 6, 1985, Bostic appeared in a Cook County Circuit Court and bond was set at $100,000. Bostic was unable to pay his bond and so he remained in jail. On August 30, 1985, a grand jury returned an indictment which charged Bostic with murder and armed violence.

Bostic’s trial was set for February 21, 1986. On that date, two eyewitnesses to the Cotton homicide — Evelyn and Barbara McMiller — came to court pursuant to subpoenas. The McMillers did not testify, however, because the case was continued on Bostic’s motion to April 29, 1986. As they were leaving the courtroom, the McMillers each told a man who identified himself as a detective that Bostic was not the man who had shot Cotton. Id. at 8. Pienta was one of several detectives who was in court on February 21, 1986. Bostic was held in custody until his trial on April 29, 1986. After a one day bench trial, the trial judge acquitted Bostic and ordered him released.

Bostic sued the City and detectives Pien-ta and Marley pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming civil rights violations. Both sides moved for summary judgment. The district court denied Bostic’s motion for summary judgment and granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Bostic appeals.

II. Analysis

We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. We accept all facts and inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Where the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, affidavits, if any, and admissions on file show that there is no genuine issue of material fact, the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Vukadinovich v. Board of School Trustees, 978 F.2d 403, 408 (7th Cir.1992).

A. Post-Arrest Detention

Bostic complains that the defendants violated his Fourth Amendment rights when, on July 3, 1985, they arrested him without a warrant and kept him in custody for more than 48 hours without a judicial probable cause determination. 1 We disagree.

In Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 95 S.Ct. 854, 43 L.Ed.2d 54 (1975), the Supreme Court held “that the Fourth Amendment requires a judicial determination of probable cause as a prerequisite to extended restraint of liberty following arrest.” Id. at 114, 95 S.Ct. at 863. This judicial determination, the Court stated, must be “a fair and reliable determination of probable cause as a condition for any significant pretrial restraint of liberty, and this deter- *968 initiation must be made by a judicial officer either before or promptly after arrest. Id. at 125, 95 S.Ct. at 868. The Court has recently clarified what it meant in Gerstein by “promptly after arrest.” “[A] jurisdiction that provides judicial determinations of probable cause within 48 hours of arrest will, as a general matter, comply with the promptness requirement of Gerstein.” City of Riverside v. McLaughlin, — U.S. —, —, 111 S.Ct. 1661, 1670, 114 L.Ed.2d 49 (1991). The Court in Riverside established 48 hours as the point at which the burden of proof shifts. If an arrested individual does not receive a probable cause determination within 48 hours, “the arrested individual does not bear the burden of proving unreasonable delay. Rather, the burden shifts to the government to demonstrate the existence of a bona fide emergency or other extraordinary circumstance.” Id. The Court cautioned that this is not a rigid standard for courts to apply blindly.

In evaluating whether the delay in a particular case is unreasonable, however, courts must allow a substantial degree of flexibility. Courts cannot ignore the often unavoidable delays in transporting arrested persons from one facility to another, handling late-night bookings where no magistrate is readily available, obtaining the presence of an arresting officer who may be busy processing other suspects or securing the premises of an arrest, and other practical realities.

Id.

In this case, Bostic’s detention was not unreasonable. The parties do not dispute that he was released at 1:30 a.m. on July 5, 1985. Under Riverside, Bostic bears the initial burden of persuasion. He must show that he was arrested by 1:30 a.m. on July 3, 1985 to shift that burden to the defendants. Once he establishes that more than 48 hours elapsed, the burden shifts to the defendants to show that his detention was reasonable. Id.

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