Sanchez Ochoa v. Campbell et al
Filing
107
ORDER Denying Cross Motions for Summary Judgment; denying 59 Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment; denying 76 Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment; plaintiff's prayers for injunctive relief are denied. Signed by Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr. (PL, Case Administrator)
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FILED IN THE
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
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Sep 10, 2018
SEAN F. MCAVOY, CLERK
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
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ANTONIO SANCHEZ OCHOA,
No. 1:17-CV-03124-SMJ
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Plaintiff,
ORDER DENYING CROSSMOTIONS FOR SUMMARY
JUDGMENT
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v.
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ED W. CAMPBELL, Director of
Yakima County Department of
Corrections; SCOTT HIMES, Chief of
the Yakima County Department of
Corrections; and YAKIMA COUNTY,
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Defendants.
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Plaintiff Antonio Sanchez Ochoa alleges a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against
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Ed W. Campbell, Director of the Yakima County Department of Corrections
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(“County DOC”), Scott Himes, Chief of the DOC, and Yakima County
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(collectively, “Defendants”) for violating his Fourth Amendment rights. ECF No.
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1. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as compensatory
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damages. Id. at 10–11.
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Before the Court is Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No.
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59. Defendants request the Court grant summary judgment in its favor on all of
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Plaintiff’s claims. Also before the Court is Plaintiff’s Cross-Motion for Partial
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 1
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Summary Judgment, ECF No. 76. Plaintiff requests partial summary judgment
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against Defendant Yakima County (the “County”) only.
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The Court held a hearing on the motions on September 6, 2018. Having
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reviewed the pleadings and the file in this matter, and having heard the parties’
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arguments on the record, the Court is fully informed and, for the following reasons,
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denies both motions.
I.
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LEGAL STANDARD
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A party is entitled to summary judgment where the documentary evidence
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produced by the parties permits only one conclusion. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby,
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Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250 (1986). Summary judgment is appropriate if the record
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establishes “no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to
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judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). “A material issue of fact is one
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that affects the outcome of the litigation and requires a trial to resolve the parties’
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differing versions of the truth.” SEC v. Seaboard Corp., 677 F.2d 1301, 1306 (9th
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Cir. 1982).
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The moving party has the initial burden of showing that no reasonable trier
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of fact could find other than for the moving party. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477
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U.S. 317, 325 (1986). Once the moving party meets its burden, the nonmoving
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party must point to specific facts establishing a genuine dispute of material fact for
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trial. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586–87
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 2
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(1986).
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“[A] mere ‘scintilla’ of evidence will be insufficient to defeat a properly
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supported motion for summary judgment; instead, the nonmoving party must
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introduce some ‘significant probative evidence tending to support the complaint.’”
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Fazio v. City & Cty. of San Francisco, 125 F.3d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1997)
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(quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 252). If the non-moving party fails to make
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such a showing for any of the elements essential to its case as to which it would
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have the burden of proof at trial, the trial court should grant the summary judgment
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motion. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322.
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The Court is to view the facts and draw inferences in the manner most
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favorable to the nonmoving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255; Chaffin v. United
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States, 176 F.3d 1208, 1213 (9th Cir. 1999). And, the Court “must not grant
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summary judgment based on [its] determination that one set of facts is more
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believable than another.” Nelson v. City of Davis, 571 F.3d 924, 929 (9th Cir.
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2009).
II.
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A.
BACKGROUND1
Factual Background
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1
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In ruling on the summary judgment motions, the Court considered the facts and
all reasonable inferences therefrom as contained in the submitted affidavits,
declarations, exhibits, and depositions, in the light most favorable to the party
opposing the motion. See Leslie v. Grupo ICA, 198 F.3d 1152, 1158 (9th Cir.
1999).
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 3
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On May 4, 2017, Plaintiff was arrested and booked into the Yakima County
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Jail (the “County Jail”). ECF No. 88. He was formally charged with second degree
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assault and malicious mischief. Id. His bail was initially set at $75,000, and was
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subsequently reduced to $50,000. Id.
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On or about May 4, 2017, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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(“ICE”) officer interviewed Plaintiff at the County Jail, issued a Form I-200
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Administrative Warrant (“immigration warrant”), and delivered a copy of the
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immigration warrant to the County. Id. An ICE officer personally served the
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immigration warrant on Plaintiff. Id. The immigration warrant stated that the
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Supervisory Detention Deportation Officer Michael Gladish had found probable
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cause to believe that Plaintiff was removable based on his voluntary statements. Id.
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It also authorized immigration officers to “arrest and take [Plaintiff] into custody
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for removal proceedings.” Id.
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Upon receiving the immigration warrant, the County Jail booking staff
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recorded the immigration warrant in its electronic Jail Management System. Id.
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This populated the online, publicly-accessible jail register. Id. The jail register
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identifies charges and warrants issued for an inmate. The County Jail’s notation of
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the immigration warrant is similar to the manner in which the County Jail records
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any notice of a warrant or criminal charges issued by another jurisdiction. ECF No.
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88. Plaintiff’s jail register at the time of the lawsuit’s initiation indicated:
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 4
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EC
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F
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No.
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7-2.
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Plai
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ntif
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f unsuccessfully attempted to secure bail bond services, and was unable to post bail
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without such services. ECF No. 66 at 9. On July 5, 2017, Plaintiff’s undersigned
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counsel wrote a letter to Defendant Campbell requesting that Defendants remove
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Plaintiff’s immigration hold in time for the hearing for reconsideration of bail. Id.;
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ECF No. 61-1 at 5. On July 6, 2017, Defendant Campbell responded to the letter,
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saying he “confirmed that Plaintiff can bail on his ICE hold. Unfortunately, [the
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County Jail] do[es] not accept the bail [there] at Yakima County Jail. It must be
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processed through the Federal Courts.” ECF No. 61-2.
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On July 17, 2017, Plaintiff filed the present action against Defendants
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pursuant to 42 U.S.C § 1983, alleging that Defendants’ actions violated the Fourth
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Amendment. ECF No. 1 at 10. Specifically, he asserts that Defendants’ policy and
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practice of detaining individuals before they are released from DOC’s custody
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based solely on an immigration hold issued pursuant to an administrative warrant
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 5
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violates his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizures. Id. at
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1–2, 10. Plaintiff alleges that such administrative warrants—issued by U.S.
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Department of Homeland Security personnel without a judicial warrant or
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independent finding of probable cause—do not provide state or local law
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enforcement officers authority to arrest or detain individuals for immigration
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violations. Id. at 2.
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On July 25, 2017, the Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in
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favor of Plaintiff. ECF No. 32. The TRO required that the County: (1) remove the
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notation from its online jail roster indicating that Plaintiff was being detained
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pursuant to an immigration hold; (2) physically release Plaintiff should he post
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bond on his state charges; and (3) refrain from relying on an administrative warrant
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to hold or otherwise communicate to third parties that Plaintiff was being held due
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to his immigration status. Id.
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On July 28, 2017, Plaintiff posted bail and was promptly released from
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custody. ECF No. 88. Federal immigration authorities then almost immediately
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apprehended Plaintiff and took him into custody. Id. Plaintiff was subsequently
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removed, i.e., deported. ECF No. 51; Sanchez Ochoa v. Campbell, 716 F. App’x
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741, 742 (9th Cir. 2018).
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On July 31, 2017, Defendant Himes emailed the County DOC sergeants,
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corporals, officers, and administrative and clerical staff, instructing: “[E]ffective
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 6
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immediately we will no longer be accepting Immigration holds (I200) forms and
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holding inmates past the time of their local charges. We will however still be
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accepting inmates that ICE have arrested in other jurisdiction [sic] using (I203)
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forms under the current (IGA) Inter Governmental Agreement.” ECF No. 78-4
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(emphasis added).
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Between 2014 and the present, the County accepted bail for thirty-eight
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individuals situated similarly with Plaintiff. ECF No. 64-1; ECF No. 88. At oral
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argument, Plaintiff’s counsel clarified that although the County accepted bail,
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those individuals were not in fact released.
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B.
Yakima County’s Immigration Hold Policy2
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In 2010, the County entered into an Intergovernmental Detention Services
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Agreement (IGA) with the United States Marshals Service. ECF No. 88. Pursuant
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to that agreement, federal law enforcement agencies, including ICE, detain
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persons in federal custody at the County Jail. Id. The IGA authorizes the County
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to accept federal detainees only upon presentation by a law enforcement officer
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with proper federal government agency credentials. Id.
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No portion of the IGA authorizes the County to administratively transfer
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any detainee from county custody to federal immigration custody without
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2
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Detailed explication of the cooperation between federal, state, and local officials
on immigration matters is set forth in the Court’s Order granting Temporary
Restraining Order, ECF No. 32 at 9–15.
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 7
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presentation by a federal immigration officer. Id. In other words, unless and until a
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federal immigration officer arrests a detainee, the detainee is not in immigration
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custody under the IGA. At all times relevant to this action, no law enforcement
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officer or entities in the County were certified under 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g) to enforce
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federal civil immigration law. Id.
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The County DOC maintains an internal Policy and Procedures Manual
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(manual). ECF No. 67-6. Changes to the manual are communicated to staff via
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email. Id. Pursuant to the manual, the County DOC had its own procedure—that
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was not incorporated into the IGA—for effectuating an administrative transfer of
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inmates from county custody to federal custody within Yakima County Jail. Id.;
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ECF No. 88. The procedure consisted of four clerical steps culminating in a
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transfer that was designated as such on paper. ECF No. 88. The County would
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then fax a “notice of turn-over” to ICE. Id.
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Throughout the transfer process, individuals were not actually released from
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the County Jail: they remained in their cells. Id. Moreover, as a matter of practice,
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federal immigration officers were not present when the County DOC performed
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an administrative transfer. Id. Indeed, federal immigration officers were not
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required to be physically present to effectuate the transfer. ECF No. 66 at 6.
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ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 8
III.
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A.
DISCUSSION
Plaintiff’s prayers for injunctive relief
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Defendants argue that Plaintiff’s prayers for injunctive relief should be
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denied as moot. ECF No. 59 at 17. Plaintiff concedes that the Court “has already
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granted Mr. Sanchez’s requested injunctive relief by issuing a TRO.” ECF No. 65
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at 19. The Court agrees with the parties that Plaintiff’s prayers for injunctive relief
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are moot. As such, injunctive relief is denied.
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B.
Plaintiff’s prayers for declaratory relief
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In the Complaint, Plaintiff asks the Court to declare that the County DOC
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policy and practice of placing immigration holds—and denying detainees the
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opportunity to post bail if they have such holds—based solely on administrative
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warrants violates the Fourth Amendment. ECF No. 1 at 10.
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Defendants argue that Plaintiff’s prayers for declaratory relief should also be
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denied as moot because Plaintiff has been removed and there is little chance that
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“the policies and practices challenged by Mr. Ochoa may again be enforced against
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him.” ECF No. 59 at 16. In opposition, Plaintiff argues that the Court may
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nonetheless provide declaratory relief, which will serve as a predicate to a damages
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award and serve the purpose of clarifying the legality of the County’s policy and
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practice. ECF No. 65 at 20–21.
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Under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202, there
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 9
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must be a “case of actual controversy” before a federal court may assert
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jurisdiction and provide declaratory relief. In other words, federal courts may only
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resolve actual and concrete disputes. See Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk,
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569 U.S. 66, 71 (2013).
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In this case, the mere possibility that Plaintiff could pursue nominal
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damages to redress constitutional violations ensures that he retains a sufficiently
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concrete interest in the outcome of the litigation. See Yniguez v. Arizona, 975 F.2d
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646, 647 (9th Cir. 1992) (per curiam) (“A plaintiff’s pursuit of nominal damages
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provides a sufficiently concrete interest in the outcome of the litigation to confer
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standing to pursue declaratory relief and thereby prevents mootness.”). Moreover,
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Plaintiff seeks to clarify the legality of Defendants’ policy and practice, which is
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not affected by Plaintiff’s removal.
Accordingly, the Court rejects Defendants’ argument to deny Plaintiff
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declaratory relief.3
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C.
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Plaintiff’s § 1983 claim for compensatory damages.
The Court rejects Plaintiff’s argument that the Court “must” issue declaratory
relief as a predicate to a damages award. ECF No. 65 at 21. It is well settled that §
2201 authorizes, rather than commands, a court to consider a claim for declaratory
relief. Pub. Affairs Assocs., Inc. v. Rickover, 369 U.S. 111, 112 (1962); Gov’t
Employees Ins. Co. v. Dizol, 133 F.3d 1220, 1223 (9th Cir. 1998) (“The
[Declaratory Judgment] ‘Act gave the federal courts competence to make a
declaration of rights; it did not impose a duty to do so.’” (quoting Rickover, 369
U.S. at 112)).
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 10
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A plaintiff seeking both injunctive relief and money damages may pursue a
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case even after the request for an injunctive relief is rendered moot. Havens Realty
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Corp. v. Coleman, 455 U.S. 363, 370–71 (1982) (case not moot because plaintiff
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would be entitled to liquidated damages if defendants found liable). As such, the
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Court inquires into the merits of Plaintiff’s claim for compensatory damages.
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To establish liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, “a plaintiff must show both
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(1) deprivation of a right secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States,
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and (2) that the deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state
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law.” Chudacoff v. Univ. Med. Ctr. of S. Nev., 649 F.3d 1143, 1149 (9th Cir. 2011).
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Municipalities may be subject to damages liability under § 1983.4 Monell v. Dep’t
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of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978). “A suit against a public official in his official
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capacity is actually a suit against the entity for which the official is an agent.”
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Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 165 (1985). As such, the Court needs to
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engage in only one analysis for all three defendants: did the County violate
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Plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment rights?
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The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and
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seizures. U.S. CONST. amend. IV. Moreover, it only protects against governmental
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action. United States v. Jacobsen, 466 U.S. 109, 113 (1984).
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Defendants assert in their Answer that Plaintiff has failed to establish municipal
liability pursuant to Monell. ECF No. 21 at 9. But Defendants do not raise this
argument in their summary judgment motion. See ECF No. 59.
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 11
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Whenever an officer restrains the freedom of a person to walk away, he has
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seized that person. Brower v. Cty. of Inyo, 489 U.S. 593, 595 (1989) (discussing
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seizures in the context of a police roadblock). While a seizure may involve
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“intentional acquisition of physical control,” it can also occur when “an
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unintended person or thing is the object of the detention or taking” as long as the
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detention or taking itself is willful. Id. at 596. In other words, a seizure occurs
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“only when there is a governmental termination of freedom of movement through
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means intentionally applied.” Id.; see also Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (2007)
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(reaffirming this intentionality requirement).
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While the mention of “intent” may invite arguments as to governmental
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motive, the “intent that counts under the Fourth Amendment is the intent that has
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been conveyed to the person confronted, and the criterion of willful restriction on
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freedom of movement is no invitation to look to subjective intent when
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determining who is seized.” Brendlin v. Cal., 551 U.S. 249, 261 (2007). In short,
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subjective intentions play no role, and courts must focus on the objective
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manifestations of governmental conduct.
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In this case, the threshold issue is whether there was a Fourth Amendment
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seizure—in this case, a “new” seizure subsequent to the initial arrest. If so, it must
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be supported by probable cause. Manuel v. City of Joliet, Ill., 137 S. Ct. 911, 918
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(2017). Defendants argue that no seizure occurred by the mere “immigration hold”
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 12
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notation on the jail register.5 ECF No. 59 at 5–10. Plaintiff argues that the
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placement of the notation, which was to ensure that he would not be physically
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released, is evidence of the seizure. ECF No. 65 at 6–18.
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1.
Genuine disputes of material facts remain.
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The Court concludes that Defendants and Plaintiff have not met their
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respective burdens to show that no reasonable trier of fact could find other than in
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their favor. Specifically, they cannot unambiguously show that there was—or was
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not—a seizure because genuine disputes of material facts remain. And so, they
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cannot know that the County did or not did have a policy of detaining individuals
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in reliance on the immigration warrants, and discouraging individuals from
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posting bail. See ECF No. 76 at 8–9.
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As the parties agree, in order to determine whether there was a new seizure,
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Defendants must have detained Plaintiff through means intentionally applied. See
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Brower, 489 U.S. at 596. To argue in the affirmative, Plaintiff must show that due
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to the County’s policy, the notation itself was evidence of Defendants’ intention to
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While Defendants also argue in detail that Defendants Campbell and Himes are
protected by qualified immunity, the Court sees no need to entertain this argument
because they are being sued in their official capacities, not their individual
capacities. See ECF No. 1 at 3. It is well settled that qualified immunity is not
available to officers sued in their official capacities. See e.g., Hallstrom v. City of
Garden City, 991 F.2d 1473, 1482 (9th Cir. 1993) (“A municipality (and its
employees sued in their official capacities) may not assert a qualified immunity
defense to liability under Section 1983.” (citing Owen v. City of Indep., Mo., 445
U.S. 622, 638 (1980))); Eng v. Cooley, 552 F.3d 1062, 1064 n.1 (9th Cir. 2009).
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 13
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automatically continue his detention even if he posted bail.6 This would show that
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Plaintiff’s detention was a “willful” and intended consequence of the notation—
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and a new seizure. A showing of anything less would make Plaintiff’s claim
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entirely speculative.
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Indeed, Plaintiff asserts that even if he had posted bail, he would not have
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been released because Defendants would have begun the administrative transfer
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process to ICE. The record shows that on July 31, 2017, Defendant Himes emailed
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staff indicating they would no longer be accepting I-200 immigration warrants and
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“holding inmates past the time of their local charges.” Construing the email in
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Plaintiff’s favor, this suggests that up until then, the County was accepting such
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warrants to continue holding inmates even upon release from county custody.
However, construing the facts in Defendants’ favor, it is “impossible” to
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While Plaintiff additionally argues that the notation prevented him from
accessing bail bond services, this argument is unpersuasive in the Fourth
Amendment context. Since the Court granted the TRO, no further evidence has
been introduced to show that Defendants’ objective was to prevent access to bail
bond services. Defendants’ objective manifestation was apparently to document
that Plaintiff would be released to ICE upon release from county custody, not to
obstruct bail bond services. ECF No. 59. Even if it were Defendants’ subjective
motive to prevent Plaintiff from accessing bail bond services, the Fourth
Amendment seizure inquiry only looks to objective manifestations. See Brendlin,
551 U.S. at 261. While Plaintiff cites Mendia v. Garcia, 768 F.3d 1009 (9th Cir.
2014), as “controlling” during the TRO hearing and again in its opposition brief,
Mendia is of limited applicability with its standing analysis—Defendants do not
challenge Plaintiff’s standing to bring this claim. More importantly, the Mendia
plaintiff never brought a Fourth Amendment challenge: instead, the inquiry
surrounded the right to bail. See Mendia v. Garcia, No. C 10-3910 MEJ, 2012
WL 948814, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 20, 2012) (emphasis added).
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 14
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know because Plaintiff did not in fact post bail prior to the Court’s TRO, and
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because it is not uncommon for ICE to cancel I-200s. See ECF No. 93 at 3. This
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creates a genuine dispute as to the consequences of the immigration hold notation.
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Furthermore, a genuine dispute remains as to whether Defendants would
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have even accepted bail, considering Defendant Campbell wrote Plaintiff’s
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counsel saying they do not accept bail there and federal courts had to get involved.
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ECF No. 61-2. This would suggest that Defendant Campbell himself considered
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Plaintiff to not be in county custody.
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Because these disputes affect the outcome of the litigation, a trial is
necessary to resolve the matter. See Seaboard, 677 F.2d at 1306.
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
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1.
Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 59, and
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Plaintiff’s Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF No.
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76, are DENIED.
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2.
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IT IS SO ORDERED. The Clerk’s Office is directed to enter this Order
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Plaintiff’s prayers for injunctive relief are DENIED.
and provide copies to all counsel.
DATED this 10th day of September 2018.
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_________________________________
SALVADOR MENDOZA, JR.
United States District Judge
ORDER DENYING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 15
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