Pike v. Hester

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's summary judgment denying qualified immunity to a sheriff's sergeant in a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action, alleging that the sergeant violated plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights when he conducted an after-hours dog search of plaintiff's locked office. The panel held that issue preclusion did not apply in this case and that the panel was bound by the state justices' conclusion that the sergeant violated the Fourth Amendment; the panel applied Nevada issue preclusion law and determined that the alleged Fourth Amendment violation was at issue in the state court proceeding, the sergeant was a party, the state justice's order extending the protective order was final for issue preclusion purposes; and the state justices actually and necessarily litigated the Fourth Amendment issue and found that the search was not lawful; and it was clearly established at the time of the search that the sergeant's conduct violated plaintiff's rights. View "Pike v. Hester" on Justia Law