Maxwell v. Dodd, No. 10-1663 (6th Cir. 2011)
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Secret Service agents staked out plaintiff's home to execute an arrest warrant for her boyfriend. After seeing the boyfriend outside the house, officer knocked. When he answered the door he was cuffed and taken to a vehicle. At roughly the same time, five agents entered the house and conducted a protective search, without a warrant, in the presence of plaintiff, who was visibly pregnant, and her sister. They seized a shotgun, ammunition, and (according to plaintiff) $9,600 in cash. Plaintiff alleges that the officers refused to let her use the bathroom during their search, forcing her to urinate on herself, that they pushed and pulled her from room to room, that they used racial epithets, and that they threatened to arrest her. She filed several "Bivens" claims and a civil conspiracy claim under 42 U.S.C. 1985. The district court rejected some claims, but awarded $3,000 in damages for the search and property seizure. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, holding that plaintiff did not establish a civil conspiracy.
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