Jessop v. City of Fresno Case Brief

Jessop v. City of Fresno

140 S. Ct. 2793

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Takeaway

In short, the Ninth Circuit’s ruling remained in place, but the Supreme Court did not decide the constitutional question.

Background

The case arose from allegations that Fresno police officers stole cash and rare coins while executing a search warrant. The Ninth Circuit held that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity because it was not clearly established that the alleged theft violated the Fourth or Fourteenth Amendment.

Jessop petitioned the Supreme Court to review that ruling. The Court granted several motions to file amicus briefs but denied the petition.

Issues

Issue #1

Whether the Supreme Court would review the Ninth Circuit’s qualified-immunity ruling.

Holding

No. The Court denied certiorari without deciding whether the Ninth Circuit’s ruling was correct.

Reasoning

The Court’s order accepted the amicus briefs and denied the petition for a writ of certiorari. It gave no reason for declining review.

A denial of certiorari leaves the lower court’s judgment in place, but it does not endorse that court’s reasoning or establish a Supreme Court rule about police theft of seized property.