Russell L. Streetman, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Lt. Gary Jordan, Etc. et al., Defendants-appellees, 918 F.2d 555 (5th Cir. 1991)

The appellant Russell Streetman challenges the district court's dismissal of his section 1983 action, arguing that the municipal and county defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity. Finding no error, we affirm.

Facts and Proceedings In the District Court

Streetman's home was entered by municipal and county law enforcement officers pursuant to a facially valid search warrant. The warrant was secured by Lt. Jordan, who based his probable cause affidavit on information obtained from a confidential informant. The warrant disclosed that Jordan had probable cause to believe that "usable amounts" of cocaine and crystal would be found in Streetman's home.

The pleadings disclose that when the officers entered Streetman's home, he was emerging from the shower wrapped in a towel. The officers pointed their weapons at him, forcefully announced their intention to search his home, and made him lie naked on the floor. They initially denied his repeated request that he be allowed to put on some clothes, but they later acquiesced. The search of Streetman's home failed to produce any cocaine or crystal, but did produce a canister containing some marijuana seeds, a weapon with a serial number removed, a hypodermic syringe with traces of an unknown substance, and various pieces of electronics equipment purportedly matching the description of some stolen items. The officers also discovered an allegedly stolen phone booth and some Texas Department of Highways road signs in Streetman's yard.

The appellant was arrested and indicted for possession of the phone booth, but this prosecution was later dismissed for insufficient evidence. The appellant filed this section 1983 suit against the various municipal and county officers involved in the search. The district court dismissed all defendants in three subsequent orders, granting summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity. Streetman filed a notice of appeal, which this court dismissed for failure to specify the orders he was appealing and against which parties the appeal was lodged. We address the merits of Streetman's second notice of appeal, which correctly identifies the order appealed.¹ 

Qualified Immunity: A Pleading Problem

Qualified immunity cloaks a police officer from personal liability for discretionary acts which do not violate well-established law. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 102 S. Ct. 2727, 73 L. Ed. 2d 396 (1982). A constitutional right must be implicated, and "the contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he's doing violates that right." Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640, 107 S. Ct. 3034, 3039, 97 L. Ed. 2d 523 (1987). With specific regard to search warrants, the Supreme Court has held that an officer "will not be immune if, on an objective basis, it is obvious that no reasonably competent officer could have concluded that a warrant should issue." Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 341, 106 S. Ct. 1092, 1096, 89 L. Ed. 2d 271 (1986).

Because the doctrine is intended to shield officers from the disruptions accompanying a lawsuit, "questions regarding qualified immunity are resolved on the face of the pleadings with limited resort to pre-trial discovery." James v. Sadler, 909 F.2d 834, 838 (5th Cir. 1990) (citations omitted). See also, Geter v. Fortenberry, 849 F.2d 1550 (5th Cir. 1988). Accordingly, a section 1983 plaintiff must comply with heightened pleading requirements and state with "factual detail and particularity the basis of his claim...." Elliott v. Perez, 751 F.2d 1472, 1473 (5th Cir. 1985). Mere conclusory allegations and bold assertions are insufficient to meet this heightened standard. Id. at 1482.²  We find that Streetman's pleadings, replete with such conclusory statements, do not defeat the officers' qualified immunity defense.

Although Streetman's pleadings contain much factual detail about the officers' conduct during the search, these facts do not support a cause of action under section 1983.³  Noticeably absent are the facts supporting his actionable claims. For example, Streetman alleges that Lt. Jordan "relied" on information from a fictitious confidential informant and falsified the statements in his probable cause affidavit. However, we have only Streetman's bold assertion that the informant did not exist.⁴  Streetman also submits that he was the victim of a conspiracy directed against him by the appellees. Although he concedes that "bald allegations that a conspiracy exist [s] are insufficient," Lynch v. Cannatella, 810 F.2d 1363, 1370 (5th Cir. 1987) (citations omitted) his pleadings disclose only conclusory allegations. Other allegations, such as "... [the] affidavit ... fails to establish probable cause for the search" and "... the defendants ... acted willfully, knowingly, and purposefully with the specific intent to deprive [Streetman] of his [rights] ..." similarly cannot overcome the immunity defense.

Conclusion

Because we conclude that the appellant failed to meet the heightened pleading standards required in this circuit, we find that the district court properly granted summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity as to all defendants. The judgment of the district court is

AFFIRMED.