Scherr v. City of Chicago

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendants-police officials’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s section 1983 action alleging that defendants violated plaintiff’s 4th Amendment rights by including deliberate falsehoods in their affidavits supporting their request for issuance of search warrant, where: (1) one defendant, who was father-in-law to plaintiff, claimed presence of 50 marijuana plants in plaintiff’s home that plaintiff used to obtain “marijuana oil” for plaintiff’s terminally ill daughter; (2) said defendant failed to reveal his family connection to court; and (3) actual search produced no marijuana plants. Plaintiff did not allege that said defendant was aware that no plants were in plaintiff’s home at time he sought warrant, or that said defendant was not telling truth that he had seen said plants four days prior to seeking warrant, and at time of warrant there was no medical exception to federal law prohibiting possession of marijuana. Moreover, although defendant’s motivation for seeking warrant was suspect, said motivation did not undermine existence of probable cause to search plaintiff’s home.