An uncorroborated tip led to a strip search of a female student in school. Nothing was found, and the student was threatened with trouble if she talked about it. The question is close, but the court finds that plaintiff did not show sufficient precedent that an uncorroborated tip is not enough for a school search to overcome qualified immunity. S.S. v. Turner Unified School District No. 202, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177180 (D. Kan. December 14, 2012)*:<\/p>\n
The court recognizes in that responding to a qualified immunity challenge, plaintiff is not required to find Supreme Court or Tenth Circuit cases with precisely the same facts. Pierce v. Gilchrist, 359 F.3d 1279, 1298 (10th Cir. 2004). But plaintiff must demonstrate that the right allegedly violated is clearly established in a more particularized and relevant sense:<\/p>\n
The contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right. This is not to say that an official action is protected by qualified immunity unless the very action in question has previously been held unlawful; but it is to say that in light of the pre-existing law the unlawfulness must be apparent.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640 (1987) (citations omitted).<\/p>\n
As one example, plaintiff could have identified Supreme Court or Tenth Circuit case law discussing whether an informant’s tip justified a finding of reasonable suspicion in the school setting or in other circumstances. See, e.g., United States v. Chavez, 660 F.3d 1215, 1222 (10th Cir. 2011) (discussing relevant factors in determining whether a tip provides reasonable suspicion). But plaintiff did not make this showing or engage in this analysis. And it is not the court’s job to search the case law and create arguments on plaintiff’s behalf. Accordingly, plaintiff has not carried her burden and demonstrated that the right allegedly violated was clearly established. Hillidard v. City & Cnty. of Denver, 930 F.2d 1516, 1518 (10th Cir. 1991); …<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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