Shouse v. Price, 10th Cir. (2008)

FILED
United States Court of Appeals

Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
September 30, 2008
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
JERALD SHOUSE,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
ROBERT PRICE, Tonkawa City
Police Officer; BILL GROCE,
Kay County Deputy Sheriff; DANA
WILSON, Ponca City Police Officer;
LEWAIN LEARNED, Kay County
Deputy Sheriff,
No. 08-6040
(D.C. No. 5:05-CV-00831-HE)
(W.D. Okla.)
Defendants-Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before TACHA, PORFILIO, and TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judges.
Defendants-appellees in this case were part of a group of law enforcement

officers that arrested plaintiff-appellant Jerald Shouse in 2003 at his common-law
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is
not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata,
and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value
consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.
wifes house. Mr. Shouse was convicted for trafficking methamphetamine and
eventually filed a 42 U.S.C. 1983 civil rights complaint asserting that the
defendants violated his constitutional rights during his arrest. The district court
granted summary judgment to the defendants-appellees and also denied a motion
filed by Mr. Shouse seeking sanctions against Mr. Prices attorney. Mr. Shouse
now appeals those decisions.
Mr. Shouse first claimed the defendants entry into his wifes house and his
subsequent arrest constituted an unlawful search and seizure. The magistrate
judge recommended that summary judgment be granted, determining that the
issue had been addressed in state court and Mr. Shouse was therefore barred from
relitigating it in federal court by the fair faith and credit statute, 28 U.S.C.
1738.
Mr. Shouse next claimed the defendants used excessive force in arresting
him. The magistrate judge recommended summary judgment because Mr. Shouse
had not presented evidence showing that the defendants were the officers who had
committed the complained-of actions, noting that Mr. Shouses own filings
seemed to show the defendants had not committed those actions.
Finally, Mr. Shouse claimed that his arrest and the removal of his
four-year-old son from the home constituted intentional infliction of emotional
distress in violation of state law and the Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth
Amendments. The magistrate judge determined (1) the Eighth Amendment was
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inapplicable because he had not yet been convicted or incarcerated at the time of
the complained-of actions, (2) the Fourteenth Amendments right to familial
association was not violated becauseeven if Mr. Shouse could show that one of
the defendants was responsible for removing his son from the homethere was
no question removal was in the childs best-interests, and (3) the Fourth
Amendment was not violated in regard to the entry and force used to effectuate
his arrest for the reasons set forth in response to the first two claims. The
magistrate judge also recommended the district court decline to exercise
supplemental jurisdiction over Mr. Shouses state law claim and deny as deficient
his sanction motion.
The district court adopted the magistrate judges report and
recommendation, entered judgment for defendants on Mr. Shouses federal
claims, dismissed his state claim without prejudice, and denied his sanction
motion.
We have jurisdiction over Mr. Shouses appeal under 28 U.S.C. 1291.
We review de novo the district courts summary judgment decision, applying the
same standard as the district court. Butler v. Compton, 482 F.3d 1277, 1278
(10th Cir. 2007). Summary judgment should be rendered if the pleadings, the
discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no
genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment
as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c).
-3-
When applying this standard, we examine the factual record and

reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the
party opposing summary judgment. If there is no genuine issue of
material fact in dispute, then we must determine if the substantive
law was correctly applied by the district court.
Sigmon v. CommunityCare HMO, Inc., 234 F.3d 1121, 1124-25 (10th Cir. 2000)
(quotation marks and citation omitted). As to the denial of a motion for
sanctions, we review the district courts decision for abuse of its discretion. Gust
v. Jones, 162 F.3d 587, 598 (10th Cir. 1998). A court abuses its discretion only
when it makes a clear error of judgment, exceeds the bounds of permissible
choice, or when its decision is arbitrary, capricious or whimsical, or results in a
manifestly unreasonable judgment. Bradford v. Wiggins, 516 F.3d 1189, 1194
(10th Cir. 2008) (quotation marks omitted).
Having carefully reviewed the briefs and the record on appeal with these
standards in mind, we AFFIRM the district courts grant of summary judgment
and denial of Mr. Shouses sanction motion for the reasons offered by the
magistrate judge in his report and recommendation, as adopted by the district
court in its February 8, 2008, order. Further, because we agree with the district
court that this appeal lacks a good faith basis, we DENY Mr. Shouses request to
proceed in forma pauperis. See 28 U.S.C. 1915(a)(3). Mr. Shouse is
responsible for the immediate payment of the balance of the appellate filing fee.
Entered for the Court
John C. Porfilio
Circuit Judge
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FILED

United States Court of Appeals

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

September 30, 2008

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Before TACHA, PORFILIO, and TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judges.

Defendants-appellees in this case were part of a group of law enforcement

When applying this standard, we examine the factual record and

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