Rubins v. Tisdale et al
Filing
21
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Granting Defendant Carlile's Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss re: 16 MOTION to Dismiss. Party Chuck Carlile terminated. (Ordered by Judge Mary Lou Robinson on 10/17/2012) (awc) Modified termed party on 10/17/2012 (awc).
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
AMARILLO DIVISION
DOUGLAS RUBINS.
$
$
PLAINTIFF,
$
VS.
$
CNIL ACTION CAUSE NUMBER
$
POLICE OFFICER CHARLES TISDALE.
$
et al.,
$
DEFENDANTS.
2:12-CY-lI8-J
$
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING
DEFENDANT CARLILE'S RULE 12(b)(6) MOTTON TO prSMrSS
Before the Court is Defendant Chuck Carlile's Rule 12(b)(6) motion, filed September 18,
2012, to dismiss the claims asserted against him in this case because Plaintiff Douglas Rubins has
failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Plaintiff Rubins has no,lrt.U a response
to this motion, and the time to do so has expired. For the following reasons, the Defendant's motion
is granted.
Background Facts
Plaintiff Rubins sues Carlile, a Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper, based upon
alleged violations of Rubins' Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, for which he seeks relief in
this court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. $1983. Essentially, Plaintiff alleges he was the victim of
a
conspiracy to secure without probably cause his arrest and subsequent prosecution in satisfaction of
a
vendetta by Amarillo Police Department Colonel Kenneth Ferguson. Plaintiff alleges that Trooper
Carlile, in conspiracy with others, maliciously arrested the Plaintiffpursuant to an outstanding arrest
warrant, after a DPS database check by Carlile revealed a then-active arrest warrant for Rubins.
Plaintiff does not dispute that there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest, the knowledge
of which Defendant Carlile relied upon in effecting the arrest. Plaintiff reproduced the text of the
warrant within the body of his complaint. Plaintiff does not allege that Defendant Carlile acted
contrary to or inconsistently with the arrest warrant. Plaintiff bases his claims against Defendant
Carlile on two grounds: 1) that Carlile arrested the Plaintiff relying on electronic information, or an
'oinvisible" warrant, rather than an "actual" warrant; and2) that Carlile should have recognized that
the arrest warrant was somehow contrary to Texas law, and should have independently elected to not
enforce
it.
Defendant moves for dismissal because of the Plaintiff s failure to state a viable claim.
Dismissal Standards
To avoid dismissal, "a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to
'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal,556 U.S. 662,129 S.Ct. 1937,
1949,173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009)(quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly,550 U.S. 544,570,127 S.Ct.
1955,167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). To be plausible, the complaint's "[f]actual allegations must be
enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative
level." Twombly,550 U.S.
at 555, I27 S.Ct.
1955. In deciding whether the complaint states a valid claim for relief, the court accepts all
well-pleaded facts as true and construes the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.
Doe v. MySpace, Inc., 528 F.3d 413, 418 (5th Cir. 2008)(citing Hughes v. Tobacco Inst., lnc.,278
F
.3d 417 ,420 (5th Cir. 2001)). However, the court does not accept as true "conclusory allegations,
unwarrantedfactualinferences,orlegalconclusions." Ferrerv.ChevronCorp.,4S4F.3dTT6,TS0
(5th Cir. 2007)(quoting Plotkin v. IP Axess Inc., 407 F.3d 690, 696 (5th Cir. 2005)); see also lqbal,
129 S.Ct. at 1940 ("While legal conclusions can provide the complaint's framework, they must be
supported by factual allegations ."). Accord In re Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC, 624F.3d
201,210 (5th Cir. 2010)(Rule l2(bX6) dismissal standards).
Discas sion and Analysis
The constitutional reasonableness of reliance by law enforcement officers on electronic
means of communication (i.e., a computerized warrants database) as sufficient to establish probable
causeforanarrestissettledlaw. SeeHercingv.(lnitedStates,555U.S. 135,146,129S.Ct.695,
703-04,172L.ed.2d496 (2009)(Only "if the police have been shown to be reckless in maintaining
a warrant system, or to have
knowingly made false entries to lay the groundwork for future false
arrests ... should such misconduct cause a Fourth Amendment violation."\: Arizona v. Evans. 514
U.S.
l,
15-16 (1995)$fo constitutional violation where court employees were responsible for an
erroneous computer record (a recalled warrant not deleted from the active database), a type
of
negligent error that occurred once every three or four years, where there was no indication that the
arresting officer was not acting objectively reasonably when he relied upon the police computer
record.); United States v. Smith, 354 Fed. Appx. 99, 102 (5th Cir. 2009) (Police officers acted in
good faith in arresting defendant pursuant to bench warrant issued for defendant's arrest, where
officers searched computer database to determine whether an active warrant existed and that database
showed an active warrant did exist, and where one officer later telephoned police in the city from
which warrant was issued to request a copy of the database printout to confirm an active warrant
existed for use as evidence at evidentiary hearing on motion to suppress evidence.).
Plaintiff does not cite authority for his proposition that the Fourth Amendment requires the
actual warrant to be in a law enforcement officer's hand before an arrest may take place. Texas law
explicitly authorizes arrest with only knowledge, rather than actual possession, of an arrest warrant.
See
Tex. Code Crim. Pro. article 15.26 ("The officer need not have the warrant in his possession at
the time of the arrest . . ..").
Plaintiff Rubins alleges that Texas law distinguishes between felony and misdemeanor
offenses when
it comes to bringing the accused to court. Plaintiff therefore
have been served with a citation or a court summons, instead of
a
asserts that he should
warrant being issued for his arrest.
The requirements for an arrest warrant are laid out in Texas Code of Criminal Procedure
article 15.02. Subsection 2 of that article requires that the person sought be accused of "some
offense against the laws of the State." The plain language ofthe arrest statute provides no distinction
between felony and misdemeanor offenses./t It allows an arrest warrant to be issued for either class
of offense.
Tex. Code Crim. Pro. article 15.03(a) and (b) expressly authorizes
a
Texas magistrate to issue
a summons in lieu of a warrant, or a warrant instead of a summons. There is no statutory mandate
to issue only a summons or, put another way, to nol issue
a
warrant for arest, based upon the class
of the charged offense. Either the warrant or a summons may be issued upon a showing under oath
that aperson "has committed some offense against the laws of the State." Id. at (a)(2).
1
.'Requisites of
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 15.02, entitled
warrant":
issues in the name of 'The State of Texas', and shall be sufficient, without regard to form, if it have
these substantial requisites:
1 . It must specifu the name of the person whose arrest is ordered, if it be known, if unknown,
then some reasonably definite description must be given of him.
2. It must state that the person is accused of some offense against the laws of the State, naming
"It
the offense.
3. It must
be signed by the magistrate, and his office be named in the body of the warrant, or in
connection with his signature."
Acts
of
1965, 59th Leg., vol. 2, p.317, ch. 722, effective January
Codes Annotated).
l,
1966 (Vernon's Texas Statutes and
The facts as pled by the Plaintiff demonstrate that Defendant Carlile lawfully arrested the
Plaintiff in obedience to a faciallv valid arrest warrant. No violation of the Fourth Amendment has
been stated or shown. Further,
it is undisputed that Plaintiff
appeared before a judicial officer in
Bosque County after his arrest, and was there afforded a post-arrest probable cause determination
by an independent judicial intermediary.
If facts supporting
an arrest are placed before an independent intermediary such as a neutral
magistrate, the intermediary's decision breaks the chain of causation for arrest, insulating the
arresting
party. Weeler v. Cosden Oil and Chemical Co.,744 F.2d 1131, 1132
(Sth Cir. 1984);
Thomas v. Sams,734F.2d 185, 191 (5th Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 472U.5.1017, 105 S.Ct.3476,87
L.Ed.2d 612 (1985); Smith v. Gonzales, 670F.2d 522,526 (5thCir. 1982), cert. denied,459 U.S.
1005, 103 S.Ct. 361, 74L.Ed.2d397 (1982); Rodriguez v. Ritchey, 556F.2d 1185, 1193 (5th Cit.
1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1047, 98 S.Ct. 894, 54 L.Ed.zd 799 (1978). Regardless of any
allegation of malicious intent, the officer is freed from liability by the probable cause determination,
unless he withheld information relevant to the probable cause determination from the judicial
intermediary. Handv. Gary,838 F.2d 1420,1427-28 (5thCir. 1988)("Anindependentintermediary
breaks the chain of causation unless it can be shown that the deliberations of that intermediary were
in some way tainted by the actions of the defendants.").
There is no assertion in the pleadings in this case that Rubins' Bosque County probable cause
determination was made in the absence of relevant information, or was somehow tainted by the
actions of DPS Trooper Carlile. Therefore Defendant Carlile may not be held liable for the arrest
at issue in this case. The independent Bosque County
judicial determination of probable cause for
Plaintiff to be detained pursuant to the valid warrant issued for his arrest not only broke the chain
of causation for Plaintiff
s
alleged damages arising after Carlile's arrest, but freed Defendant Carlile
from liability for the arrest itself.
Conclusions
For each of the reasons stated above, Plaintiff Douglas Rubins' claims asserted in this case
against Defendant Chuck Carlile are hereby dismissed with prejudice pursuant to Rule 12(bX6)
of
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
It is SO ORDERED.
Signed this
the
tn/
day of
October,2\I2.
ATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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