Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Rules That an Officer Was Not Entitled to Summary Judgment in a Civil Lawsuit for an Arrest Allegedly Made Without Probable Cause

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled (2-1) in Smith v. Munday, 848 F.3d 248 (4th Cir. Feb. 3, 2017), that a North Carolina officer was not entitled to summary judgment in a civil lawsuit for arresting the plaintiff allegedly without probable cause. This case is the subject of this post. Facts. In 2009 North Carolina local law enforcement officers used a confidential informant who was wired with audio and video recorders to make a purchase of crack cocaine. After the transaction, the informant told the officers that he purchased drugs from April Smith, a black female. An officer’s notes identified her as “B/F April Smith” and “April B/F Smith skinny $20 1 rock in plastic, Smith 40s.” For technical and other reasons neither the audio nor video captured the drug sale, although there was video of an unidentified black female sitting on the front porch. During the next nine months, an officer scanned police databases for residents of his county named April Smith who had criminal records. He then discovered April Yvette Smith, a black female and the plaintiff in this case who lived in the county and had been convicted of selling crack cocaine in 1993, 1997, and 2005. His search revealed at least two other April Smiths with criminal records. He had no indication that the female who sold crack cocaine to the informant in 2009 had a criminal record or was even a county resident. The record reflects no further attempt by the officer to connect [...]