Cop Should Not Have Arrested Plaintiff for Allegedly Concealing Identity

Keylon v. City of Albuquerque, ___ F.3d ___, 2008 WL 2967658 (10th Cir. 2008)

In Sec. 1983 action arising out of cop’s arrest of Plaintiff, without probable cause, for concealing ID, the district court erred in denying Plaintiff judgment as a matter of law and erred in submitting the issue of qualified immunity to the jury. The COA ruled that under the facts, no reasonable police officer would have believed that Plaintiff violated the law and concealed her identity. Also, there were no disputed facts regarding qualified immunity–as a matter of law, Plaintiff’s rights were so clearly established that the cop should have known his actions in arresting her violated those rights–and therefore, the question of immunity should not have gone to the jury.