Court Error – Qualified Immunity

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Davin Green v. Jonathon Newport

Case No.: 16-1536

Officials: BAUER and KANNE, Circuit Judges, and FEINERMAN, * District Judge

Focus: Court Error – Qualified Immunity

In this case, the district court concluded that Officer Newport conducted an investigatory stop based solely on a “suspicious person” report, and in doing so violated Green’s clearly established Fourth Amendment right and that Officer Newport was therefore not entitled to qualified immunity. Officer Newport argues that the district court erred by defining Green’s Fourth Amendment right without the requisite specificity.

He further argues that the case law relied upon by the district court is factually dissimilar to the facts in this case, and the court failed to demonstrate that Green’s Fourth Amendment rights were clearly established. We agree. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, but police may conduct an investigatory stop of an individual when the officer has reasonable suspicion that a crime may be afoot. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21–22 (1968). Such stops, referred to as Terry stops, need not be supported by probable cause; rather, they are permissible as long as officers have a “reasonable articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot.” United States v. Riley, 493 F.3d 803, 808 (7th Cir. 2007) (citation omitted).

We reverse the district court’s denial of Officer Newport’s motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds, and direct the court to grant the motion.

Reversed and Remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.