Keith Baldwin, Jr. v. Jamey Fletcher, Captain, Maiden Police Department
SocialSecurity CriminalProcedure
1. Discovery Rights in § 1983 Cases: Whether federal district courts must allow § 1983 plaintiffs reasonable discovery to develop facts regarding defendants' affirmative defenses before dismissing claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), or whether courts may resolve disputed factual issues regarding constitutional violations including the existence and validity of search warrants based solely on defendants' unverified documentary submissions while simultaneously denying plaintiffs' motions for discovery as "premature."
2. Miranda Custody Standard: Whether the determination of "custody" for Miranda purposes requires a totality-of-circumstances analysis considering the duration of detention, physical threats by officers, restriction of movement, and coercive atmosphere, or whether the absence of formal arrest is dispositive regardless of other objective indicia that a reasonable person would not feel free to leave.
3. Qualified Immunity Standard: Whether the "clearly established law" requirement for overcoming qualified immunity in § 1983 actions requires precedent with nearly identical facts, or whether well-established constitutional principles from this Court's precedents suffice when applied to analogous governmental conduct involving prolonged detention, threats of violence, and warrantless searches.
Whether federal district courts must allow § 1983 plaintiffs reasonable discovery to develop facts regarding defendants' affirmative defenses before dismissing claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)