DISCLAIMER: Any unofficial case summaries below are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
141425P.pdf 03/23/2015 Allan Rodgers v. Daniel Knight
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 14-1425
and No: 14-1454
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Jefferson City
[PUBLISHED] [Colloton, Author, with Murphy and Kelly, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Civil rights. Prosecutors had absolute immunity for filing a
criminal charge against plaintiff Greg Rodgers and the officers were
entitled to qualified immunity for recommending an unlawful use of weapons
charge; officers were entitled to qualified immunity on charge they
violated plaintiff's rights by seeking a search warrant; search was
reasonable and officers were entitled to qualified immunity for the scope
of the search; officers were entitled to hold the weapons as evidence and
returned them within a reasonable time after the close of the criminal
proceedings; plaintiffs' Second Amendment claims were correctly dismissed
as lawful seizure and retention of weapons does not violate the Second
Amendment; officers were entitled to qualified immunity on claim they
seized the weapons in retaliation for plaintiff's exercise of his First
Amendment rights since they had probable cause to arrest plaintiff and
seize his weapons; failure to train and instruct claims against the City
of Columbia and Boone County rejected; claim that a senior judge cannot
preside over the case is foreclosed by Eighth Circuit precedent, and claim
the judge should have recused was raised for the first time on appeal and
would not be considered. With respect to plaintiff Franklin's appeal, the
officers had probable cause to seek a warrant and arrest him and were
entitled to qualified immunity; guns seen in plain view during the
execution of a "drug warrant" could be seized as tools of the drug trade
and evidence of the offense; weapons could be retained for evidence
purposes; First Amendment retaliation claim was properly dismissed as the
officers had probable cause to arrest defendant; failure to train claims
were properly dismissed.