Filed: Jul. 14, 2000
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS For the Fifth Circuit No. 99-20516 TAMMY GALLOWAY, Plaintiff - Appellee, VERSUS THE CITY OF HOUSTON TEXAS; ET AL, Defendants, J WHALEN Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court For the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division (H-98-CV-3395) July 12, 2000 Before POLITZ, EMILIO M. GARZA, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Appellant Jimmy Whalen, a Harris County Deputy Sheriff, appeals from the district court’s denial of summary jud
Summary: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS For the Fifth Circuit No. 99-20516 TAMMY GALLOWAY, Plaintiff - Appellee, VERSUS THE CITY OF HOUSTON TEXAS; ET AL, Defendants, J WHALEN Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court For the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division (H-98-CV-3395) July 12, 2000 Before POLITZ, EMILIO M. GARZA, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Appellant Jimmy Whalen, a Harris County Deputy Sheriff, appeals from the district court’s denial of summary judg..
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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
For the Fifth Circuit
No. 99-20516
TAMMY GALLOWAY,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
VERSUS
THE CITY OF HOUSTON TEXAS; ET AL,
Defendants,
J WHALEN
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
For the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division
(H-98-CV-3395)
July 12, 2000
Before POLITZ, EMILIO M. GARZA, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Appellant Jimmy Whalen, a Harris County Deputy Sheriff,
appeals from the district court’s denial of summary judgment in
this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights case filed by Appellee Tammy
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under
the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
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Galloway. Galloway claims that she was shot by Officer Whalen in
violation of her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights against
unreasonable seizure and her Fourteenth Amendment rights to
substantive due process. Officer Whalen moved for summary judgment
asserting that he is qualifiedly immune from the claims and arguing
(1) that he did not violate Galloway’s Fourth Amendment rights both
because no seizure occurred and because his actions were
reasonable, and (2) that his actions did not violate Galloway’s
substantive due process rights as they were not shocking to the
conscience.
Having fully considered the arguments of counsel as advanced
in briefs and at oral argument, and having carefully reviewed the
record on appeal, we conclude that there are genuine issues as to
material facts precluding Deputy Whalen’s entitlement to summary
judgment. Accordingly, we AFFIRM the district court’s
interlocutory judgment denying Deputy Whalen’s summary judgment
motion.
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EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge, concurring in part and dissenting
in part:
I concur in the majority’s decision to affirm the district
court’s denial of summary judgment on Tammy Galloway’s
(“Galloway’s”) Fourth Amendment claim. There are genuine issues of
material fact precluding summary judgment for Deputy Whalen on that
claim. However, I believe that the district court erred in denying
Whalen summary judgment on Galloway’s Fourteenth Amendment
(substantive due process) claim. Therefore, I dissent in part.
The right to substantive due process is violated only by
government action that “can properly be characterized as arbitrary,
or conscience shocking, in a constitutional sense.” County of
Sacramento v. Lewis,
523 U.S. 833, 847,
118 S. Ct. 1708,
140 L. Ed.
2d 1043 (internal citation omitted). Lewis, which dealt with the
substantive due process claim of a motorcycle passenger killed by
police in a high-speed automobile chase aimed at apprehending a
suspected offender,
id. at 837-38, clarified the proper
application of the “shocks the conscience” standard in
circumstances like those presented here. Having discussed the
conflicting obligations and lack of time for reflection facing
police officers “on an occasion calling for fast action,” the Court
held that “when unforeseen circumstances demand an officer’s
instant judgment, even precipitate recklessness fails to” shock the
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conscience.
Id. at 853. Rather, in such circumstances “a purpose
to cause harm” is a prerequisite to substantive due process
liability.
Id. at 854.
It is clear that Whalen was presented with unforeseen
circumstances demanding instant judgment. At the conclusion of a
nighttime car chase lasting several minutes, Michael Galloway’s
(“Michael’s”) car was surrounded by police (on foot) in a wooded
area after it jumped the curb of a dead-end street. Whalen ran up
behind the vehicle as Michael attempted unsuccessfully to move it.
When Michael indicated that he was going to move in reverse, Whalen
reacted by firing five rounds toward the vehicle while running to
its side, hitting Galloway, the passenger.2 Under Lewis, Whalen
is liable to Galloway only if he intended to cause harm. See
id.
at 854.
Galloway does not dispute that she must show that Whalen
intended to harm her. Rather, she argues that she has made this
showing. I disagree. First, Galloway apparently did not allege in
her complaint that Whalen intentionally harmed her. Second, the
2
It is not disputed that Michael had the car in reverse and was
attempting to move backward at the time Whalen opened fire. The
police officers testified that Michael not only put the car in
reverse but actually began moving backward. Michael testified that
the car likely was in reverse and that he was revving the engine.
Tammy admitted that it was possible that Michael had tried to back
the vehicle and she had not been aware of it. Therefore, while it
is disputed whether the vehicle actually could or did move, it is
not disputed that Michael indicated an intent to move the vehicle
in reverse. This indication was sufficient to create an emergency
situation requiring Whalen’s instant judgment.
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district court found that there was no claim and no evidence that
Whalen intended to harm Galloway. Third, while Galloway’s brief
purports to show the requisite intent-to-harm, it actually claims
only that Whalen acted “with total disregard” for Galloway’s
safety. Such disregard is not the equivalent of an intent to harm.
It is thus not surprising that Galloway failed to present the
requisite specific evidence showing that Whalen intended to harm
her. The district court therefore erred in denying Whalen’s motion
for summary judgment on Galloway’s Fourteenth Amendment claim. See
Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e).
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