Ryan Milbeck sued the Village of Rothschild, Kenosha County, and various law enforcement officers under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of his Fourth Amendment rights. The dispute began when Milbeck's ex-wife reported that he had hacked her accounts and violated a restraining order. Based on her report, Detective Allison George issued a 'temporary felony want'—a database alert indicating sufficient information for an arrest but no warrant yet issued—and directed officers in Milbeck's jurisdiction to arrest him. Officers entered Milbeck's home without a warrant, claiming they had a valid warrant, and arrested him. Although the prosecutor later dismissed the charges, Milbeck sued, arguing the entry was unlawful. The district court dismissed all claims, ruling that probable cause justified the arrest and that the prosecutor was immune from suit.
The Seventh Circuit analyzed the case by separating the claim for unlawful arrest from the claim for unlawful home entry. The court affirmed the dismissal of the arrest and malicious prosecution claims because the officers had probable cause to arrest Milbeck based on the ex-wife's allegations and the records she provided. Probable cause is an absolute defense to § 1983 claims for false arrest and malicious prosecution. Additionally, the court upheld the dismissal of the malicious prosecution claim against the prosecutor, noting that prosecutors enjoy absolute immunity for initiating charges. However, the court reversed the dismissal of the Fourth Amendment claim regarding the entry into the home. The court emphasized that the Fourth Amendment's core protection is the sanctity of the home, and warrantless entries are presumed unreasonable absent consent or exigent circumstances. A fundamental principle of Fourth Amendment law is that a valid warrant must be issued by a 'neutral and detached magistrate,' not by an officer engaged in law enforcement. The court held that a 'temporary felony want' issued by a police officer fails this requirement because it is not issued by a judge and lacks the necessary probable cause affidavit. Therefore, the officers' entry into Milbeck's home based solely on the 'want' was facially defective. The court also found that the plaintiff plausibly alleged a Monell claim against the municipalities for failing to train officers on the critical constitutional distinction between a police-issued 'want' and a judicially issued warrant.
The case is remanded to the district court to allow Milbeck's Fourth Amendment claim for unlawful entry and his municipal liability claim to proceed. The decision clarifies that probable cause to arrest does not automatically justify entering a suspect's home without a warrant issued by a judge. It also signals that municipalities may face liability if they fail to train officers on the constitutional limits of 'temporary felony wants' versus valid warrants. The ruling leaves open the question of whether the officers are entitled to qualified immunity, as that issue was not preserved for appeal, and whether the municipalities' failure to train rose to the level of deliberate indifference.
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