United States Fourth Circuit

In plaintiffs' suit against police officers claiming several causes of action under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 and state law, arising from a late-night, no-knock entry into plaintiffs' family home on suspicion of child pornography related offenses, district court's judgment is affirmed in part, reversed in part, dismissed in part and remanded where: 1) because a man of reasonable intelligence would not have believed that exigent circumstances existed in this situation, the district court's holding that this no-knock entry violated the plaintiffs' clearly established constitutional rights and does not warrant an award of qualified immunity; 2) district court's denial of qualified immunity with respect to one of the plaintiff's excessive-weapons claims is affirmed; 3) district court's denial of qualified immunity as to remaining two plaintiffs' excessive weapons claims is reversed; and 4) plaintiffs' challenge to the district court's grant of summary judgment to the officers with respect tot he validity of the search warrant and the reasonableness of various aspects of the search, is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction as there is no final order governing those issues from which to appeal.

Appellate Information

• Argued 10/27/2010
• Decided 01/11/2011
• Published 01/11/2011

Judges

• WILKINSON

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Jason Patrick Foster, Thomas E. Carroll