Michael David Melton v. Kelly D. Phillips

A law enforcement officer recklessly misidentified Petitioner in an investigative report. The report was later used in a warrant affidavit to arrest Petitioner, and he was wrongfully detained in jail for sixteen days. Under Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978), an officer violates the Fourth Amendment by recklessly or deliberately including false information in a warrant affidavit. Sitting en banc, a divided Fifth Circuit nevertheless held that the officer here did not violate the Fourth Amendment because he was not the affiant and did not provide the false information for the purpose of its use in the warrant affidavit. That decision deepens a circuit split. The questions presented are:

1. Whether a law enforcement officer who recklessly or deliberately reports false information that is ultimately relied upon in a warrant application violates the Fourth Amendment.

2. Whether the law in this area was clearly established, such that an officer who violates the Fourth Amendment by recklessly or deliberately reporting false information later used in a warrant is not entitled to qualified immunity. PARTIES TO THE PROCEEDING The parties to the proceeding are listed in the caption of the Petition.