United States Tenth Circuit

Summary judgment for defendants, police and social workers, in a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 case alleging that defendants' removal of plaintiffs' children from their home without notice and a hearing violated their procedural due process rights is affirmed where defendants had "reasonable and articulable suspicion" that the children had been abused or were in imminent peril of abuse.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/12/2006
• Published 09/13/2006

Judges

• McCONNELL, Circuit Judge., Before HENRY, LUCERO, and McCONNELL, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Michael Newell of Heidel Samberson, Newell, Cox & McMahon, Lovington, NM, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Sean Olivas (Lynn E. Mostoller with him on the brief) of Keleher and McLeod, PA, Albuquerque, NM, for Defendant-Appellee Naomi Locklear.  Richard E. Olson, Joel M. Carson, and Derek L. Brooks of Hinkle, Hensley, Shanor & Martin, LLP, Roswell, NM, and Barney James Reeves of Reeves & Reeves, PA, Las Cruces, NM, for Defendants-Appellees Rebecca Berrera-Garcia, Mike Pitts, and Rudy Arrey.