PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:
Clifton H. Jones and Jerry Dwayne Nance filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi against Lowndes County, Lowndes County Sheriff's Department, Sheriff C.B. "Butch" Howard in his individual and official capacity, and Deputy Sheriff Ivan Bryan in his individual and official capacity. They complained they were detained for more than 48 hours without a determination of probable cause or an initial appearance, in violation of the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Following discovery, the district court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment. We affirm.
On Saturday April 5, 2008 the Lowndes County Sheriff's Department received a 911 call reporting a suspicious person purchasing pseudoephedrine pills, a precursor to the manufacture of methamphetamine. Defendant-appellee Ivan Bryan, a deputy sheriff, responded to the call and arrested plaintiffs-appellants Clifton Jones and Jerry Dwayne Nance at 5:33 P.M. With no Justice Court judges on duty on Saturday evening or Sunday, a determination of probable cause by a neutral magistrate was not sought over the remainder of the weekend. On Monday morning Bryan was off-duty and working at a second job for a different employer. He returned to the police station after his shift ended, and attempted to schedule an appearance before
The next morning Bryan appeared before a justice court judge who determined the arrests were justified by probable cause. The judge did not allow plaintiffs to make their initial appearance on the same day as the determination of probable cause, so Jones and Nance made their initial appearance on Wednesday and were released on bail. A grand jury subsequently indicted them for possession of precursors to the manufacture of methamphetamine.
We review a grant of summary judgment de novo.
Jones and Nance appeal rejection of their Fourth Amendment claims, but do not challenge the district court's grant of summary judgment on their Fifth and Eighth Amendment claims.
The Supreme Court reaffirmed in Gerstein v. Pugh that a warrantless arrest supported by probable cause is constitutionally permissible.
The overarching constraint upon the state imposed by the Fourth Amendment is its demand of reasonableness. Applying this fundamental precept the Court provided the 48-hour mark, but cautioned
It is undisputed that more than 48 hours lapsed before Jones and Nance received a determination of probable cause. They contend the defendants did not show this delay was justified by extraordinary circumstances and were not entitled to summary judgment. We do not reach the merits of this argument because Jones and Nance failed to show that any defendant is liable for the alleged deprivation of their Fourth Amendment rights.
A Section 1983 claimant must "establish that the defendant was either personally involved in the deprivation or that his wrongful actions were causally connected to the deprivation."
Jones and Nance identify only one policy they claim caused the deprivation of their Fourth Amendment rights. Sheriff Howard explained in an interrogatory response that "the general policy is a target to take the detainee to a Judge within 48 hours but no later than 72 hours and as soon as reasonably possible and without any unnecessary delay." This policy violates McLaughlin, Jones and Nance maintain, by allowing determinations of probable cause or initial appearances 48 hours after arrest. Plaintiffs ask too much of that decision. McLaughlin provides the 48-hour timeline as a useful benchmark, but does not hold that determinations of probable cause made after the lapse of 48 hours are always unreasonable. The policy in question, in accordance with McLaughlin, makes unreasonable delay the standard that officers should apply,
No other policy or custom to which the alleged deprivation could be traced is identified by plaintiffs. Instead, Jones and Nance agree with defendants that the delay was due to the lack of available judges on Saturday evening, Sunday, and Monday afternoon.
The Fourth Amendment allegations against Deputy Sheriff Ivan Bryan are also unavailing. As the arresting officer, Bryan was responsible for ensuring the arrestees were promptly brought before a magistrate.
"Qualified immunity protects officers from suit unless their conduct violates a clearly established constitutional right."
It is argued that Bryan should have made more effort to contact a judge over the weekend and on Monday afternoon. The record indicates that no judge made himself or herself available for determinations of probable cause at those times. That Bryan could have done more and forced or persuaded a judge to conduct the determination is, at best, speculative. Plaintiffs also contend Bryan should have made alternative arrangements to obtain a probable cause determination on Monday morning. It would not have been clear to a reasonable officer that he was required to do so, however. Bryan went to the police station immediately after his shift ended at his other place of employment in order to schedule an appearance before a judge, several hours within the 48-hour window. Bryan's testimony as the arresting officer was necessary to the determination of probable cause, and he had no way of knowing the county judges would choose to close their courtrooms early that Monday afternoon or that their doing so was unlawful. Under these circumstances, we cannot conclude a reasonable officer would have known he was required to make alternative arrangements such as skipping his Monday morning shift or preparing a written report to enable another officer to attend the probable cause determination in his place. Bryan was therefore entitled to summary judgment.
Jones and Nance also challenge the rejection of their Fourteenth Amendment claims.
Jones and Nance also contend they suffered unconstitutional conditions of confinement because they were not allowed to make any phone calls to obtain legal representation. As the district court noted, however, the record indicates they had several opportunities to do so. Because plaintiffs failed to show a genuine issue of material fact on this issue, summary judgment was proper.
Plaintiffs' final argument is that their Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated by defendants' failure to follow two state statutes.
"[A]n alleged violation of a state statute does not give rise to a corresponding § 1983 violation, unless the right encompassed in the state statute is guaranteed under the United States Constitution."
Even if we assume that these statutes created a protected liberty interest and that they were violated, plaintiffs' claim fails. The delay of which Jones and Nance complain was caused by the unavailability of the judges at the specific time of the arrests and by their unannounced early departure on Monday. As we have explained, such actions have not been shown to set a county policy and cannot be a basis for liability of the named defendants. Under state law, it was Bryan's responsibility to bring the plaintiffs before a judge in a timely manner. The record establishes a reasonable officer would not have believed that Bryan's actions in attempting to fulfill that obligation violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights under
We affirm the judgment of the district court.