Reply #12: Just did. Fascinating technicalities of officer's immunities and warrants

[Nevernose]

The actual fill-in-the-blank search warrant versus the attached affidavit that the warrant was based upon.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/3rd/024532p.p...

I would reverse the order of the
District Court and direct that summary
judgment be entered in favor of the
defendants. First, the best reading of the
warrant is that it authorized the search of
any persons found on the premises.
Second, even if the warrant did not contain
such authorization, a reasonable police
officer could certainly have read the
warrant as doing so, and therefore the
appellants are entitled to qualified
immunity.

...

In sum, the District Court erred in
denying the defendants’ motion for
summary judgment. I share the majority’s
visceral dislike of the intrusive search of
John Doe’s young daughter, but it is a sad
fact that drug dealers sometimes use
children to carry out their business and to
avoid prosecution. I know of no legal
principle that bars an officer from searching a child (in a proper manner) if a warrant has been issued and the warrant is
not illegal on its face. Because the warrant
in this case authorized the searches that are
challenged – and because a reasonable
officer, in any event, certainly could have
thought that the warrant conferred such
authority – I would reverse.