The Injury Suffered By A Citizen Mistakenly Arrested On An Unpaid Parking Ticket Warrant Is Too Remote To Satisfy "Zone of Interests" Standing
THOMAS v. CITY OF PEORIA (September 3, 2009)
A lawyer for the city of Peoria sought and obtained a warrant for the arrest of Joshua Thomas. Joshua’s crime -- nine unpaid parking tickets. Sometime later, Joseph Thomas was stopped for a traffic violation. Although the names and addresses of Joshua and Joseph did not match, the driver's license number on the arrest warrant for Joshua did match that of Joseph. Joseph was arrested. He was later released when it was determined that he was, indeed, not Joshua. Joseph brought an action under § 1983 against the City and the lawyer who obtained the warrant. He alleged a deprivation of his Fourth Amendment and due process rights. The court dismissed for failure to state a claim. He then denied class certification. Thomas appeals.
In their opinion, Judges Cudahy, Posner and Tinder affirmed. The Court first addressed "zone of interest" standing. The Court explained zone of interest standing as a requirement of federal common law that limits the class of persons entitled to sue. Remoteness of injury is one of those limitations. Here, for example, assuming state law does not authorize an arrest for unpaid parking tickets and that such an arrest would therefore violate the Constitution, Joshua Thomas is the one within the class of people the policy is designed to protect. Joseph’s interest is to remote to be recognized. Alternatively, the Court went on to conclude that Joseph would fare no better even if he was within the zone of interest. The Supreme Court held in Moore that a otherwise reasonable arrest (which this is) is not unconstitutional simply because it was for an offense that does not authorize arrest. The Court easily disposed of the due process argument. Finally, the Court added that the individual defendant would in any event have absolute immunity as a prosecutor performing a prosecutorial function.
