May 29, 2026·3:20-cv-00661-LL-JLB·Unpublished·By Aisha Johnson
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's summary judgment in a civil rights action alleging Fourth Amendment violations. The panel held that the plaintiff failed to raise a genuine dispute regarding reasonable suspicion for detention and that the right to refuse identification was not clearly established.
Robert L. Parker, Ph.D., filed a pro se action under Section nineteen eighty-three of Title forty-two of the United States Code, alleging Fourth Amendment violations for unlawful detention and arrest. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, Vince DeQuito, Jonathan Becerra, Carrie Hogan, and unknown individuals. Parker appealed the decision.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the district court’s summary judgment and qualified immunity determination de novo. Regarding the detention claim, the court found that Parker failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether the defendants lacked reasonable suspicion or whether the detention was unduly prolonged. Regarding the arrest claim, the court determined that defendants were entitled to qualified immunity because it is not clearly established that arresting a person for failing to provide identification violates the Constitution.
What it means going forward
This decision reinforces that officers may be entitled to qualified immunity when arresting individuals for failing to provide identification, as no precedent clearly establishes such an arrest as unconstitutional.
