United States Ninth Circuit

In a mother's suit under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 against a retired police officer and his county employer, alleging that the officer's copying and dissemination of her son's autopsy photographs violated her Fourteenth Amendment Due Process rights, summary judgment in favor of the defendants is affirmed, where: 1) the mother had a constitutionally protected right to privacy over her child's death images; but 2) the officer was not acting under color of state law when he sent the autopsy photograph to the press; and 3) the officer was entitled to qualified immunity because there was no "clearly established" law to inform him that his conduct was unlawful.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/29/2012
• Published 05/29/2012

Judges

• Kozinski

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Paul W. Leehey, Deborah A. McCarthy