CA6 law was unclear prior to 2012 whether 4A applied to social workers, so they get qualified immunity

Social workers entered plaintiff’s home in January 2010 in this § 1983 case, but the Sixth Circuit didn’t hold directly that the Fourth Amendment applied to social workers until Andrews v. Hickman County, 700 F.3d 845 (6th Cir. 2012). Therefore, the social workers get qualified immunity. The argument that Andrews was wrongly decided and the Fourth Amendment always applied to social workers doesn’t go anywhere in the qualified immunity analysis. Brent v. Wenk, 555 Fed. Appx. 519 (6th Cir. 2014):

The social workers do not appear to contest that Brent has raised a triable issue as to whether he suffered a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. They instead contend that this court had not clearly established as of January 2010 that Brent had a right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures performed by social workers. In support, they cite Andrews, 700 F.3d at 859, which held that the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches does apply to social workers, but that such law was not clearly established as of 2008 when the relevant events in Andrews took place.

. . .

Brent does not challenge this interpretation of Andrews, but instead argues that Andrews was wrongly decided. He relies on decisions of district courts within this circuit and the decisions of other circuits to establish that there has never been a social-worker exemption to the Fourth Amendment.

Brent’s argument is without merit. First, Andrews belies Brent’s argument by holding that there was no clearly established law regarding a social worker exemption in 2008, when the events in Andrews took place. And Brent cites no case that would indicate a change in this circuit’s law between 2008 and 2010, when the events of this case took place. Second, and relatedly, “[w]hen determining whether a constitutional right is clearly established, we look first to decisions of the Supreme Court, then to our own decisions and those of other courts within the circuit, and then to decisions of other Courts of Appeal.” Andrews, 700 F.3d at 853. Brent’s reliance on district court cases within this circuit and on the law of other circuits is therefore unavailing. Because our circuit in Andrews held that there was no clearly established law regarding the Fourth Amendment’s applicability to social workers in 2008, that determination controls this case. We therefore reverse the judgment of the district court and grant the social workers qualified immunity on Brent’s Fourth Amendment claims.