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CA10: Qualified immunity denied for removing child from home without proper showing

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

CA10: Qualified immunity denied to defendant sued for removing plaintiffs' child from the home without just cause; the child has a Fourth Amendment right, too. Two cases: Turner v. Houseman, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 5127 (10th Cir. March 10, 2008) (unpublished): Turner has also met the second element of his burden, to show that the right allegedly violated was clearly established. "The law is clearly established when a Supreme Court or Tenth Circuit decision is on point, or if the clearly established weight of authority from other courts shows that the right mst be as the plaintiff maintains." Roska, 328 F.3d at 1248. It was clearly established, at least two years before the events in question, that absent probable cause and a warrant or exigent circumstances, neither police nor social workers may enter a person's home without a valid consent, even for the purpose of taking a child into custody, much less to conduct a search...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 13, 2008 (boomark / email).