Supreme Court of California

A county sheriff acts as a law enforcement officer on behalf of the state, not the county, and thus is absolutely immune from liability in a federal civil rights action. Plaintiffs adequately pleaded a cause of action for unreasonable search and seizure under Civil Code section 52.1(g), notwithstanding their failure to allege that defendants acted with discriminatory animus.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/05/2004
• Published 04/05/2004

Judges

• CHIN, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
•  Robert Mann and Donald W. Cook, Los Angeles, for Plaintiffs and Appellants., Law Offices of John Burton, John Burton, Pasadena, and Mary Anna Soifer for LA Police Watch as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Franscell, Strickland, Roberts & Lawrence, Cindy S. Lee, Glendale, Jin S. Choi and Adrian J. Barrio for Defendants and Respondents County of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Lee Baca, Deputy Michael Gray, Deputy Robert Harris and Deputy Thomas Jimenez., Eduardo Olivo, City Attorney (Vernon);  and John J. Cardenas for Defendants and Respondents Vernon Police Department and Detective Steven Wiles.