No. 18-1173

I. B. and Jane Doe v. April Woodard, et al.

Lower Court: Tenth Circuit
Docketed: 2019-03-11
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Amici (7) Experienced Counsel
Tags: child-abuse child-protection circuit-split constitutional-rights fourth-amendment qualified-immunity strip-search warrant warrant-requirement
Key Terms:
SocialSecurity FourthAmendment CriminalProcedure Privacy
Latest Conference: 2019-05-16
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the Fourth Amendment requires a caseworker to obtain a warrant to strip-search a child

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED Petitioner I.B. was four years old when respondent Woodard, a state caseworker, strip-searched and photographed her at preschool. Woodard had neither a warrant nor parental consent. All she had was a report making unfounded abuse of various marks or bruises on I.B. And a narrower, initial search of I.B. (or even looking at areas of I.B.’s body in plain view) readily would have disproven these allegations. Woodard eventually acknowledged that no marks on I.B.’s body were consistent with the unfounded allegations. Woodard then lied about the incident to I.B.’s mother, petitioner Jane Doe, for weeks. A divided Tenth Circuit panel affirmed the dismissal of petitioners’ Fourth Amendment claims on qualified-immunity grounds. The questions presented are: 1. Whether the Fourth Amendment requires a caseworker who suspects abuse to obtain a warrant to stripsearch a child, an issue that has produced an acknowledged 4-2 circuit split—and is nearly identical to the issue this Court granted certiorari on but did not resolve in Camreta v. Greene, 563 U.S. 692, 698 (2011). 2. Even if a warrant is not required in this context, whether clearly established law prohibits conducting warrantless strip searches of children at school where there are no “specific suspicions” of danger or wrongdoing justifying the “categorically extreme intrusiveness of a search down to the body.” Safford Unified Sch. Dist. No. 1 v. Redding, 557 U.S. 364, 376-377 (2009). 3. Whether this Court should reconsider its qualifiedimmunity jurisprudence to accord with historical commonlaw practice and to eliminate the widespread confusion plaguing current qualified-immunity doctrine. (i)

Docket Entries

2019-05-20
Petition DENIED.
2019-04-30
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/16/2019.
2019-04-24
Reply of petitioners I.B. and Jane Doe filed.
2019-04-10
Brief amici curiae of Cross-Ideological Groups Dedicated to Ensuring Official Accountability, et al. filed.
2019-04-10
Brief amici curiae of Home School Legal Defense Association, et al. filed.
2019-04-10
Brief amicus curiae of Scholars of the Law of Qualified Immunity filed.
2019-04-10
Brief of respondents April Woodard, et al. in opposition filed.
2019-04-10
Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
2019-04-10
Brief amicus curiae of First Liberty Institute filed.
2019-04-10
Brief amici curiae of Gun Owners Foundation, et al. filed.
2019-04-09
Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Justice Institute filed.
2019-04-01
Blanket Consent filed by Respondents, April Woodard, et al.
2019-03-14
Blanket Consent filed by Petitioners, I.B. and Jane Doe.
2019-03-08
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 10, 2019)

Attorneys

April Woodard, et al.
Raymond M. DeenySherman & Howard L.L.C., Respondent
Raymond M. DeenySherman & Howard L.L.C., Respondent
Cato Institute
Jay Remington SchweikertThe Cato Institute, Amicus
Jay Remington SchweikertThe Cato Institute, Amicus
Cross-Ideological Groups Dedicated to Ensuring Official Accountability, Restoring the Public's Trust in Law Enforcement, and Promoting the Rule of Law
Catherine Emily StetsonHogan Lovells US LLP, Amicus
Catherine Emily StetsonHogan Lovells US LLP, Amicus
First Liberty Institute
Kelly J. ShackelfordFirst Liberty Institute, Amicus
Kelly J. ShackelfordFirst Liberty Institute, Amicus
Gun Owners Foundation, et al.
William Jeffrey OlsonWilliam J. Olson, P.C., Amicus
William Jeffrey OlsonWilliam J. Olson, P.C., Amicus
HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION AND PARENTAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION
James R. Mason IIIHome School Legal Defense Asso, Amicus
James R. Mason IIIHome School Legal Defense Asso, Amicus
I.B. and Jane Doe
Scott A. KellerBaker Botts LLP, Petitioner
Scott A. KellerBaker Botts LLP, Petitioner
Pacific Justice Institute
Kevin T. SniderKevin T. Snider, Atty at Law, Amicus
Kevin T. SniderKevin T. Snider, Atty at Law, Amicus
Scholars of the Law of Qualified Immunity
Debo P. AdegbileWilmer Hale Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Amicus
Debo P. AdegbileWilmer Hale Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Amicus