United States Tenth Circuit

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action alleging an illegal search, the denial of Defendant-Officers' qualified immunity is affirmed where: 1) Defendants' search was ordered based on little more than Plaintiffs' status as a suspect's in-laws; and 2) a familial relationship does not justify invading an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/04/2009
• Published 05/04/2009

Judges

• LUCERO, Circuit Judge., Before LUCERO, ANDERSON, and O'BRIEN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• William D. Slease (Jonlyn M. Martinez with him on the briefs), Slease & Martinez, P.A., Albuquerque, NM, for the Defendants-Appellants., George L. Bach, Jr. (Jane Gagne and Philip B. Davis with him on the briefs), ACLU of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, for the Plaintiffs-Appellees.