Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendants-police officials’ motion for summary judgment in plaintiff’s section 1983 action, alleging that defendants violated his 4th Amendment rights by holding him in pretrial detention without probable cause and by ignoring and fabricating evidence to detain him. Record showed existence of probable cause on armed habitual criminal charge, where: (1) defendant’s vehicle was stopped for traffic violation; (2) police found gun next to defendant in car he was driving; and (3) police were aware that defendant had been convicted of two or more felonies at time of his arrest. Police were not required to release defendant, even though defendant claimed that gun belonged to other individual in car. Fact that police may have seen other individual handle gun did not require different result, since police still had probable cause to believe that defendant and other individual jointly possessed said gun. Ct. also rejected plaintiff’s claim that police violated his due process rights by fabricating evidence to keep him confined, since 4th Amendment, and not Due Process Clause, governs any claim for wrongful pretrial detention.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Fourth Amendment