TIMOTHY J. CORRIGAN, District Judge.
Anne Marie Gennusa, a lawyer, and Joel Studivant, her client, allege that members of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office
This case is now before the Court on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment relating to the Second Amended Complaint. (Docs. 44, 52.) Although the Court allowed the parties to replead so that they could better meet on the substantive issues, many of the parties' arguments have again gone unanswered. Defendants have been particularly unhelpful since, rather than responding to plaintiffs' arguments directly, "Defendants stand on [their] original Memorandum of Law [in support of their motion for summary judgment] as their argument in opposition to Plaintiff's pursuit of summary judgment." (Doc. 54 at 1.) Given the continued lack of engagement between the parties, the Court has deemed many of the parties' arguments to be conceded.
This case arises from an interview of Studivant relating to his alleged violation of a domestic violence injunction. The interview was conducted by defendant Thomas Marmo, a St. Johns County detective, in an interview room located in the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. Gennusa attended as Studivant's attorney. Although the interview was recorded and actively monitored by employees of the Sheriff's Office, plaintiffs were given no indication of this fact.
Due to the recording, the events that transpired during the interview are undisputed.
Marmo proceeded to arrest Studivant for violation of the domestic violence injunction and attached Studivant's statement to his arrest report. (Doc. 28-1 at 37-38.) A criminal prosecution was ultimately brought against Studivant, but the charges were dismissed after he entered into a deferred prosecution agreement. (Doc. 26-5 at 8-9.)
Plaintiffs filed this action against Marmo and Canova in their individual capacities and against David Shoar in his official capacity as Sheriff of St. Johns County. Plaintiffs allege defendants violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Federal Wiretapping Act by seizing Studivant's statement and recording their attorney-client conversations. Plaintiffs seek money damages and an order enjoining the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office from secretly recording attorney-client conversations in the Sheriff's Office. (Doc. 41.)
Summary judgment is proper where "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact" and "the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(a). "The burden of demonstrating the satisfaction of this standard lies with the movant, who must present `pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,' that establish the absence of any genuine material, factual dispute." Branche v. Airtran Airways, 342 F.3d 1248, 1252-53 (11th Cir.2003) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)). An issue is genuine when the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmovant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In determining whether summary judgment is appropriate, a court must draw inferences from the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant and resolve all reasonable doubts in that party's favor. Centurion Air Cargo, Inc. v. United Parcel Serv. Co., 420 F.3d 1146, 1149 (11th Cir.2005).
Counts I, II, III, and V of the Second Amended Complaint assert claims against Marmo and Canova in their individual capacities. Defendants contend that they are entitled to qualified immunity on each count. (Doc. 44.)
"Qualified immunity offers complete protection for government officials sued in their individual capacities." Vinyard v. Wilson, 311 F.3d 1340, 1346 (11th Cir.2002) (quotation omitted). "To receive qualified immunity, the government official must first prove that he was acting within his discretionary authority." Gonzalez v. Reno, 325 F.3d 1228, 1234 (11th Cir.2003).
"Once the defendants have established that they were acting within their discretionary authority, the burden shifts to the plaintiffs to show that qualified immunity is not appropriate." Id. "Courts utilize a two-part framework to evaluate qualified immunity defenses." Grider v. City of Auburn, Ala., 618 F.3d 1240, 1254 (11th Cir.2010). The court first examines "whether the plaintiff's allegations, if true, establish a constitutional violation. If the facts, construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, show that a constitutional right has been violated, another inquiry is whether the right violated was `clearly established.'" Id. (internal citations omitted). "In determining whether a constitutional right was clearly established at the time of violation, the relevant, dispositive inquiry is whether it would be clear to a reasonable officer that his conduct was unlawful in the situation he confronted." Id. at 1266 (quotation omitted); see also Long v. Slaton, 508 F.3d 576, 584 (11th Cir.2007) ("Qualified immunity protects all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.") (quotation omitted).
Whether qualified immunity applies "is a legal issue to be decided by the court." Cottrell v. Caldwell, 85 F.3d 1480, 1488 (11th Cir.1996). While "the jury itself decides issues of historical fact that are determinative of the qualified immunity defense, ... the jury does not apply the law relating to qualified immunity to those historical facts it finds; that is the court's duty." Johnson v. Breeden, 280 F.3d 1308, 1318 (11th Cir.2002). Here, because there are no material disputes regarding "the who-what-when-where-why type of historical fact issues" that require a determination by the jury, the Court may rule as a matter of law on the qualified immunity issues. See Cottrell, 85 F.3d at 1488.
In Counts II and III of the Second Amended Complaint, plaintiffs allege that Marmo violated their Fourth Amendment rights by "ripping and snatching Mr. Studivant's statement from Ms. Gennusa's hands with such force as to break Ms. Gennusa's finger nail." (Doc. 41 at 8-10.) Plaintiffs further allege that Canova violated their Fourth Amendment rights by ordering Marmo to retrieve the statement and failing to halt or remedy the constitutional violation. (Id.)
In their cross-motions for summary judgment, the parties raise distinct and essentially uncontested arguments. Defendants contend that Marmo did not use excessive force in taking the statement from Gennusa. According to defendants, Marmo merely applied a "de minimis" level of force that was reasonable in nature and thus did not rise to the level of a constitutional violation. (Doc. 44 at 11-14.)
Plaintiffs, however, do not respond to defendants' excessive force argument. Instead, plaintiffs contend that, regardless of whether Marmo employed excessive force, the seizure of Studivant's statement was per se unreasonable because it was taken without a warrant. (Doc. 52 at 10-13.) Defendants do not argue that any exceptions
At the July 29, 2011 hearing, the Court stated that the parties were "passing each other in the night" because defendants had not responded to plaintiffs' claim of per se unreasonableness and plaintiffs had not responded to defendants' arguments regarding excessive force. (Doc. 39 at 8-9.) After giving the parties an opportunity to reargue their claims, however, they again chose not to address each other's arguments. The Court thus finds that plaintiffs have correctly conceded that Marmo did not use excessive force and defendants have correctly conceded that Marmo seized Studivant's property without any exception to the warrant requirement.
"The Fourth Amendment proscribes all unreasonable searches and seizures." Horton v. California, 496 U.S. 128, 133 n. 4, 110 S.Ct. 2301, 110 L.Ed.2d 112 (1990) (quotation omitted). "A `seizure' of property ... occurs when there is some meaningful interference with an individual's possessory interests in that property." Soldal v. Cook Cnty., Ill., 506 U.S. 56, 61, 113 S.Ct. 538, 121 L.Ed.2d 450 (1992) (quotation omitted). "[I]t is a cardinal principle that searches conducted outside the judicial process, without prior approval by judge or magistrate, are per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment — subject only to a few specifically established and well-delineated exceptions." Horton, 496 U.S. at 133 n. 4, 110 S.Ct. 2301 (quotation omitted). "The burden of proving an exception to the warrant requirement rests with the government." United States v. McGough, 412 F.3d 1232, 1237 n. 4 (11th Cir.2005).
Defendants have conceded that the statement, which had been written voluntarily, was Studivant's property.
Because there are no material disputes of fact, plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment on their unreasonable seizure claims in Counts II and III.
Plaintiffs next contend that Marmo and Canova's actions in recording their attorney-client conversations violated the Fourth Amendment and the Federal Wiretapping Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2510, et seq. (Doc. 15 at 12.) "[T]he Fourth Amendment governs not only the seizure of tangible items, but extends as well to the recording of oral statements." Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 352, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967). "The constitutional question is whether the person invoking its Fourth Amendment protection can claim a `justifiable,' a `reasonable,' or a `legitimate expectation of privacy' that has been invaded by government action." United States v. McKinnon, 985 F.2d 525, 527-28 (11th Cir.1993). To prove a violation, a plaintiff therefore must show both that he had a subjective expectation of privacy and that his "subjective expectation of privacy is one that society is willing to recognize as reasonable." Id.
The Federal Wiretapping Act provides a civil cause of action against any person or entity that intercepts, or procures any other person to intercept, any wire, oral, or electronic communication. §§ 2511(1)(a), 2520(a). An "oral communication" is defined under the Act as "any oral communication uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation." § 2510(2). The Eleventh Circuit has held that courts should apply the Fourth Amendment's reasonable expectation of privacy test to determine whether the "oral communication" requirement under the Act has been met. See McKinnon, 985 F.2d at 527-28 ("Hence, the statutory and constitutional test is whether a reasonable or justifiable expectation of privacy exists").
There is no material dispute of fact regarding plaintiffs' subjective expectations that their conversations were private.
Confidential attorney-client communications are the foundation of the attorney-client privilege, "the oldest of the privileges for confidential communications known to the common law." Cox v. Administrator U.S. Steel & Carnegie, 17 F.3d 1386, 1414 (11th Cir.1994). "The privilege recognizes that sound legal advice or advocacy serves public ends and that such advice or advocacy depends upon the lawyer's being fully informed by the client." Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383, 389, 101 S.Ct. 677, 66 L.Ed.2d 584 (1981). It "is founded upon the necessity, in the interest and administration of justice, of the aid of persons having knowledge of the law and skilled in its practice, which assistance can only be safely and readily availed of when free from the consequences or the apprehension of disclosure." Id. (quoting Hunt v. Blackburn, 128 U.S. 464, 470, 9 S.Ct. 125, 32 L.Ed. 488 (1888)). Courts have thus held that an expectation of privacy in attorney-client communications is one that society is willing to recognize as reasonable. See, e.g., DeMassa v. Nunez, 770 F.2d 1505, 1506-07 (9th Cir.1985) ("It is axiomatic that the attorney-client privilege confers upon the client an expectation of privacy in his or her confidential communications with the attorney."); In re State Police Litigation, 888 F.Supp. 1235, 1256 (D.Conn.1995) ("[W]here no consent exists, and where conversations consist of privileged communications between clients and their attorneys, an expectation of privacy is reasonable.")
Starting from the premise that an expectation of privacy is reasonable when a lawyer and her client speak alone about privileged matters, the particular facts of this case only reinforce the objective reasonableness of plaintiffs' expectation.
Moreover, when the police take actions during an interview or interrogation
As a local criminal defense attorney, Gennusa also had additional reasons to conclude that her conversations with Studivant were private. She testified that, in the past, when police interviews with her clients had been recorded, she had been informed of this fact so that she could arrange for private communications. (Doc. 26-1 at 67-72.) Gennusa further testified that, as a member of the local defense bar, she had been told that the Sheriff's Office recorded only confessions and statements from suspects rather than the full contents of all interviews. (Id.) No reasonable attorney in Gennusa's position would have expected that her conversations with her client were being actively monitored and recorded when no officers were present in the room.
Considering these facts, the Court holds that plaintiffs had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the attorney-client conversations held in the police interview room. The surreptitious recording of these conversations thus violated the Fourth Amendment and constituted an actionable interception of an "oral communication" under the Wiretapping Act.
Moreover, defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity because their actions violated plaintiffs' clearly established rights. Although there appears to be no case precisely on point, the Supreme Court has held that "a constitutional rule already identified in the decisional law may apply with obvious clarity to the specific conduct in question, even though the very action in question has [not] previously been held unlawful." Hope v. Pelzer, 536 U.S. 730, 741, 122 S.Ct. 2508, 153 L.Ed.2d 666 (2002); see also Holloman ex rel. Holloman v. Harland, 370 F.3d 1252, 1277 (11th Cir.2004) ("While officials must have fair warning that their acts are unconstitutional, there need not be a case `on all fours,' with materially identical facts, before we will allow suits against them. A principle of constitutional law can be `clearly established' even if there are notable factual distinctions between the precedents relied on and the case then before the Court, so long as the prior decisions gave reasonable warning that the conduct at issue violated constitutional rights.") (quotations omitted). Since at least the Supreme Court's decision in Katz, it has been clearly established that the Fourth Amendment prohibits the police from electronically
This might be a different case if the recording of attorney-client discussions had been mistaken, inadvertent, or fleeting. But this was none of that: it was a purposeful and advised recording and monitoring of privileged communications by law enforcement officers who then used the information learned to try to advance their case against Studivant.
Because no material facts are in dispute with respect to Counts I and V, plaintiffs' cross-motion for summary judgment is due to be granted, and defendants' motion is due to be denied.
Plaintiffs assert claims against Sheriff Shoar in his official capacity as Sheriff of St. Johns County. "It is well established that a suit against a defendant governmental officer in his official capacity is the same as a suit against the entity of which the officer is an agent." Manders v. Lee, 285 F.3d 983, 990 (11th Cir.2002). Because Sheriff Shoar is an agent of St. Johns County, "in all respects other than name," plaintiffs' claims are against the County. See Cook ex rel. Estate of Tessier v. Sheriff of Monroe Cnty., Fla., 402 F.3d 1092, 1115 (11th Cir.2005).
In Counts IV and VI, plaintiffs allege that Sheriff Shoar instituted a policy or custom of taping attorney-client conversations without the knowledge or consent of the attorney or client. Plaintiffs claim this policy violated their rights under the Fourth Amendment and the Federal Wiretapping Act, thus giving rise to municipal liability under section 1983. (Doc. 41 at 10-13.)
"[A] plaintiff seeking to impose liability on a municipality under § 1983 [must] identify a municipal `policy' or `custom' that caused the plaintiff's injury." Board of Cnty. Comm'rs of Bryan Cnty., Okla. v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397, 403, 117 S.Ct. 1382, 137 L.Ed.2d 626 (1997). A plaintiff may establish liability pursuant to a municipal policy when "a deliberate choice to follow a course of action is made from among various alternatives by the official or officials responsible for establishing final policy with respect to the subject matter in question." Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 483, 106 S.Ct. 1292, 89 L.Ed.2d 452 (1986).
To demonstrate municipal liability, a plaintiff must also establish a "direct causal link between a municipal policy and the alleged constitutional injury." Amer. Fed'n of Labor and Congress of Indus. Orgs. v. City of Miami, Fla., 637 F.3d 1178, 1187 (11th Cir.2011). "When a municipal policy itself violates federal law, or directs a municipality to do so, resolving issues of fault and causation is straightforward." Id. (citation omitted). However, "[i]f a facially-lawful municipal action is alleged to have caused a municipal employee to violate a plaintiff's constitutional rights, the plaintiff must establish that the municipal action was taken with `deliberate indifference' as to its known or obvious consequences." Id. (citation omitted).
Plaintiffs argue that St. Johns County is liable under section 1983 because "the Sheriff's office standard procedure is to record all interviews without regard to the attorney-client privilege." (Doc. 52 at 14.) The written policy of the Sheriff's Office gives detectives discretion regarding when to record interviews and statements. (Doc. 50-1 at 4.)
Sheriff Shoar, however, has not moved for summary judgment on the grounds that the policy or custom requirement has not been met. Instead, Sheriff Shoar simply argues that the County cannot be liable because plaintiffs' rights were not violated. (Doc. 44 at 11.)
The Court alerted the parties to these inadequacies at the July 29, 2011 hearing. Specifically, the Court stated that plaintiffs' evidence was likely insufficient to establish municipal liability, but that Sheriff Shoar had not moved for summary judgment on that ground. (Doc. 39 at 10.)
Ordinarily, under these circumstances the Court would deny Sheriff Shoar's motion for summary judgment and proceed to trial. However, because the facts of this case are undisputed, the Sheriff's motion is due to be granted on each of plaintiffs' municipal liability claims; it would thus be a waste of resources to go to trial on this issue. Under Rule 56(f), "[a]fter giving notice and a reasonable time to respond, the court may: ... grant the motion on grounds not raised by a party; or, consider summary judgment on its own after identifying for the parties material facts that may not be genuinely in dispute." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(f)(2); see also Gentry v. Harborage Cottages-Stuart, LLLP, 654 F.3d 1247, 1261 (11th Cir.2011) ("A court may grant a motion for summary judgment on grounds not raised by a party only `after giving notice and a reasonable time to respond.'") (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(f)). The Court gave plaintiffs sufficient notice at the July 29, 2011 hearing, and, despite undertaking additional discovery, plaintiffs have been unable to develop this issue. (Doc. 39 at 10.) Because, as a matter of law, plaintiffs have not created an issue of fact regarding municipal liability, summary judgment is due to be granted for Sheriff Shoar on Counts IV and VI, and plaintiffs' cross-motion for summary judgment is due to be denied.
In Counts VII and VIII, Gennusa alleges that Sheriff Shoar illegally intercepted her oral communications with different, unnamed clients in attorney-client meeting rooms at the St. Johns County Correctional Facility. (Doc. 41 at 14-16.) These meeting rooms are in a different facility from the interview room at the Sheriff's Office which gives rise to the other counts. Gennusa now concedes that, because the cameras in these meeting rooms have no audio or video recording capability, Sheriff Shoar is entitled to summary judgment on Counts VII and VIII. (Doc. 52 at 15.)
Because summary judgment is due to be granted for defendants on Counts IV, VI, VII, and VIII, plaintiffs no longer have a claim for injunctive relief. While plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment on Counts I, II, III, and V, it appears that plaintiffs may be entitled only to statutory damages under the Federal Wiretapping Act,
Accordingly, it is hereby
1. Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 52) is
2. Defendants' Renewed Motion for Final Judgment (Doc. 44) is
3. This case is referred to the Honorable Monte C. Richardson, United States Magistrate Judge, to conduct a settlement conference. The parties should contact Judge Richardson's chambers at 904-301-6740 to coordinate the settlement conference.
4. If the case is not settled, the Court will set a status conference to determine how to resolve the damages and fees issues.
Soon after the incidents giving rise to this case, however, the Sheriff's Office posted signs outside its interview rooms which clearly indicate that anyone entering the rooms is subject to recording. (Doc. 50-2 at 53-56.) According to Sheriff Shoar, an attorney who wishes to speak privately with her client must request access to a different room. (Id.)
The cases relied on by defendants, Johnson v. State, 730 So.2d 368 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999), and Boyd v. State, 17 So.3d 812 (Fla. 4 DCA 2009) are similarly distinguishable. In Johnson, the court affirmed the trial court's decision not to exclude a recording of a conversation between the defendant and his wife that took place in a police interview room. The court found that the defendant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy where the police had not fostered any such expectation and there was strong evidence that the defendant and his wife did not subjectively believe their conversation was private. Johnson, 730 So.2d at 369-70. Moreover, in Boyd, the court affirmed the trial court's decision to admit a recording of a conversation between two suspects who were husband and wife. 17 So.3d at 814-17. Because the husband and wife were both suspects (and were aware of this fact), Boyd is analogous to cases in which courts have found that co-defendants did not have reasonable expectations of privacy in similar situations. While there is language in the court's opinion in Boyd that could be construed to suggest that a party can never have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a conversation that is recorded by a third party, 17 So.3d at 818, such an interpretation would put the court's opinion squarely at odds with the Supreme Court's opinion in Katz.