County of San Diego, California, et al. v. James Soler

Based on a neighbor’s fraudulent report that Respondent James Soler was an Arkansas fugitive living in San Diego under a false name, an Arkansas judge issued an Affidavit of Probable Cause. The governor of Arkansas then issued a requisition for extradition, the governor of California issued a warrant, and San Diego sheriff ’s deputies arrested Soler, as commanded. The next morning, Soler informed Petitioner Ernesto Banuelos, a jail deputy, that he was not the fugitive. The next day, Soler appeared at a previously-scheduled hearing, and his counsel informed the court that Soler was claiming mistaken identity. Fingerprints were examined and re-examined, and Soler was released eight days after his arrest. The questions presented are as follows.

1. When a prisoner is held under authority of a facially valid warrant, do individual jail staff members have a duty under the Fourteenth Amendment to investigate claims of mistaken identity (as the Ninth Circuit held below), or is procedural due process evaluated by analyzing the totality of process afforded to an arrestee (as this Court and other circuits have held)?

2. Is a circuit court decision sufficient to “clearly establish” a constitutional right for purposes of qualified immunity, or is something more—a robust crosscircuit consensus, or a decision by this Court—required to give fair notice to a reasonable officer?