No. 22-768

Angie Waller, et al. v. Richard Hoeppner, et al.

Lower Court: Fifth Circuit
Docketed: 2023-02-15
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: civil-rights-act fourth-amendment graham-v-connor municipal-liability reasonableness reasonableness-standard search-and-seizure tennessee-v-garner totality-of-circumstances totality-of-the-circumstances
Latest Conference: 2023-03-24
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. Does the Fifth Circuit's "narrowed" test of
reasonableness of a search or seizure under the Fourth
Amendment, which deems as irrelevant any of the officer's actions leading up to the moment of the use of force or
the execution of the search, conflict with the decisions
of this Court in Tennessee v. Garner , 471 U.S. 1 (1985)
and Graham v. Connor , 490 U.S. 386 (1989), holding
that the reasonableness of a search or seizure requires consideration of the "totality of the circumstances"?

2. Did the Fifth Circuit decide an important question
of federal law that should be but has not been settled by this Court in refusing to apply proximate cause as the
measure of causation in assessing municipal liability under
Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. of the City of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (1978), as this Court held applied to 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983 Fourth Amendment issues in County of Los Angeles
v. Mendez , 581 U.S. 420 (2017)?

3. In rejecting jurisdiction to review the district
court's denial of plaintiffs' properly pled illegal search
claims against defendants Hoeppner and the City of Fort
Worth, did the Fifth Circuit violate the fundamental basis of federal appellate jurisdiction required by the Judicial
Act o f 1 7 89 , 28 U .S. C . § 129 1 ( 1 7 89 ) , c o nfinin g a p peals
to final decisions, and this Court's decisions in Cohen v.
Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp. , 337 U.S. 541 (1995),
and United States v. American Railway Express Co. , 265
U.S. 425 (1924)?

4. By the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1871
(42 U.S.C. § 1983) (popularly known as the Ku Klux
Klan Act), given the resurgence of the Klan following
the Civil War and the remedial purpose of the Act to
enforce the protections of the United States Constitution, did Congress intend enforcement of the Act against
municipal corporations through the common law doctrine
of respondeat superior, contrary to Part II of this Court's
decision in Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. of City of New
York , 436 U.S. 658, 694-95 (1978)?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Does the Fifth Circuit's 'narrowed' test of reasonableness of a search or seizure under the Fourth Amendment conflict with the Supreme Court's decisions in Tennessee v. Garner and Graham v. Connor?

Docket Entries

2023-03-27
Petition DENIED.
2023-03-08
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/24/2023.
2023-03-01
Waiver of right of respondent Richard Hoeppner to respond filed.
2023-03-01
Waiver of right of respondent City of Fort Worth to respond filed.
2023-02-13
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 17, 2023)

Attorneys

Angie Waller, et al.
Arthur John BrenderThe Brender Law Firm, Petitioner
City of Fort Worth
Laetitia Coleman BrownCity of Fort Worth City's Attorney's Office, Respondent
Richard Hoeppner
Kenneth E. EastThe Law Office of Kenneth E. East, Respondent