Circuit identifies special-needs exception under Fourth Amendment in gun seizure case

We have ourselves a "special needs exception" case under the Fourth Amendment. That amendment says nothing about bypassing the warrant requirement in "special needs" cases, but judges have created exceptions to ensure that the police can take care of emergency situations when there's no time to get a warrant.

The case is Torcivia v. Suffolk County, issued on November 9. The police came to the plaintiff's house after his daughter called 911 to report a violent domestic incident, arising from, believe it or not, her guinea pig. Plaintiff was taken to the mental health facility for evaluation after he asked the officers to tase him. After the police discovered there were firearms in the house, they got them out of the gun safe because CPS expressed concerns about the safety of plaintiff's daughter. Plaintiff was eventually discharged from the facility after it determined he did not need in-patient treatment. The case therefore involves the seizure of plaintiff's guns without a warrant.

Plaintiff challenges the county's firearms removal policy, claiming it violates the Fourth Amendment. These Monell claims, however, are hard to prove. The district court said the policy allows officers to safeguard weapons when someone is transported to a mental health facility following a domestic incident. As for the special-needs rule, the police can seize property or enter the residence without a warrant in the event of an emergency, so long as the temporary gun seizure is not for law enforcement purposes but, instead, public safety. Since this is not a crime-control policy, the Court holds, but a policy intended to protect public safety when firearms are present, the policy satisfies the special-needs exception. The Court holds this policy is constitutional. It looks like this is the first time the Second Circuit has upheld such a policy under the Fourth Amendment.

Plaintiff still tries to win the case by arguing that the County failed to properly implement the policy. The problem with that argument is that if the officers did not properly follow the policy, then the policy is not implicated. Deviations from a constitutional municipal policy do not create a Monell claim. Since (1) the individual officers who seized the guns were exonerated at trial on plaintiff's Fourth Amendment claim, and the Court of Appeals finds no basis to upset that verdict, (2) and the mental health facility defendants won qualified immunity, it appears the case is over.