United States Fourth Circuit

In a case that included a claim under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 for deprivation of the plaintiff's Fourth Amendment right to freedom from seizure without probable cause, the district court's denial of the defendant's motion for summary judgment on a qualified immunity defense is affirmed, where: 1) no prudent person would have believed that the plaintiff had violated Virginia's impersonation statute, so her arrest lacked probable cause and was unreasonable; and 2) at the time of the plaintiff's arrest, it was clear that police officers were not at liberty to arrest citizens for impersonating a police officer without any support or probable cause.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/26/2012
• Published 04/26/2012

Judges

• King

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Benjamin Rogers Jacewicz, Kenneth David Bynum