Chism, et al. v. Washington State, et al., No. 10-35085 (9th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff and his wife filed a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action against defendants, alleging, among other things, that police officers violated their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by securing the search and arrest warrants of plaintiff's home, to search for evidence of child pornography, with an affidavit that deliberately or recklessly contained material omissions and false statements. At issue was whether the district court properly granted the officers' motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity, concluding that the officers' conduct did not violate a clearly established constitutional right of which a reasonable officer would have known. The court held that plaintiff had made a substantial showing of the officers' deliberate falsehood or reckless disregard for the truth and had established that, but for the dishonesty, the searches and arrest would not have occurred. The court also held that the officers were not entitled to qualified immunity because plaintiff's right not to be searched and arrested as a result of judicial deception was clearly established at the time one of the officers prepared and submitted her affidavit. Accordingly, the court reversed the judgment of the district court and remanded for trial.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on November 7, 2011.
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