United States Ninth Circuit

In a civil rights suit against police officers, doctors, and others for forcibly seizing and removing an infant from her parents in order to secure a medical diagnostic test and treatment, grant of summary judgment to defendants is affirmed where: 1) the police officers are entitled to qualified immunity on the Fourteenth Amendment claims because Idaho law permits a police officer to place a child in shelter care without a court order when necessary to prevent serious physical injury; and 2) there are no clearly established law which would have required a judicial hearing before the officer or the Department of Health and Welfare took the actions that they did when facing the imminent danger of the infant. Further, the officers were entitled to qualified immunity with regard to the Fourth Amendment claim, as under the circumstances of this case, the officers' separation of the mother from her daughter while medical procedures were being performed in an emergency room was demonstrably reasonable.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/10/2012
• Published 09/10/2012

Judges

• Trott

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel