Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against several municipal entities as well as a prosecutor and several law enforcement officers under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that they violated his constitutional rights by entering his home and arresting him without a warrant or probable cause and that the defendants then maliciously prosecuted him. The district court dismissed all the claims by finding that the officers had probable cause to arrest plaintiff and that the prosecutor was absolutely immune from suit. The Seventh Circuit agreed with the district court’s determinations as to both probable cause and prosecutorial immunity but explained that probable cause is not, without more, a defense to a claim of unlawful warrantless entry and that plaintiff had plausibly alleged that his constitutional rights were violated when law enforcement entered his property and arrested him on the basis of a document issued by a law enforcement rather than a judicial officer.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Fourth Amendment