- The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.*
From FindLaw:
Seizing also includes arrest, as it is the seizing of the person. A Fourth Amendment ‘‘seizure’’ of the person, the Court has determined, is the same as a common law arrest; there must be either application of physical force (or the laying on of hands), or submission to the assertion of authority.
From Roberts Law:
Individuals may sue federal officials under Bivens and state officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Both Bivens and § 1983 allow a plaintiff to seek money damages from government officials who have violated his Fourth Amendment rights. See § 1983; Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388, 397 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971) (the U.S. Marshals Service respondents), But government officials performing discretionary functions generally are granted a qualified immunity and are “shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982). Wilson v. Layne 526 U.S. 603, 609, 119 S.Ct. 1692, 1696 (U.S.Md.,1999).
From Dhammika Dharmapala (University of Connecticut) and Thomas J. Miceli (University of Connecticut):
The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures in criminal investigations. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to require that police obtain a warrant prior to search and that illegally seized evidence be excluded from trial. A consensus has developed in the law and economics literature that tort liability for police officers is a superior means of deterring unreasonable searches.
Lopez v The United States:
Resulted in a Bivins-type settlement of $62,500 (Bivins being the prevailing precedent on this topic). While the Lopez case is relevant, it seems more to represent a deal to make the case go away, rather than an actual response to specific damages.
Bari and Cherney (Bari vs FBI):
The activists sued both federal and local law enforcement authorities for numerous rights violations. More than a decade later – and after innumerable court proceedings – a jury awarded them several million dollars in damages. Eighty percent of the damages were for violation of free speech rights under the First Amendment, validating Bari and Cherney’s longstanding claim that they were targeted for false charges because of their political activism for the redwoods. The balance of the damages were for the Fourth Amendment violations of false arrest and unlawful search.
Two Albuquerque, N.M., police officers who took part in a joke arrest of a new Southwest Airlines employee must face charges that they are liable for the psychological injuries allegedly suffered by the “arrestee” as a result of the prank, a federal appeals court in Denver has ruled.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit said Marcie Fuerschbach’s constitutional claims were sufficient to survive the officers’ assertion of qualified immunity.
Qualified immunity protects government officials from liability provided their actions do not violate statutory or constitutional rights that are clearly established at the time and that a reasonable person would have known about
Durruthy v. Pastor
The National Press Photographers Association, through their counsel, Covington & Burling, submitted an Amicus Curiae (friend of the court) brief on July 12, 2004, to the United States Supreme Court in support of the petitioner in Durruthy v. Pastor. In this case the petitioner, Albert Durruthy, a photojournalist, is suing a Miami, FL, police officer for false arrest, assault and excessive use of force.
So, there are avenues to file charges and pursue lawsuits in the case of false arrest and unlawful detainment - against the arresting officers and their agencies. Like I said in an eralier post, if anyone swept me up in a Los Angeles dragnet, locked me up, or shipped me off to Mexico, I would OWN them.