KRL v. AQUARO
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today released an opinion in KRL v. AQUARO, No. 06-16282, a civil rights appeal. The panel consisted of Alfred T. Goodwin, A. Wallace Tashima, and Kim McLane Wardlaw, Circuit Judges.
GOODWIN, Circuit Judge: Defendants Russell Moore, David Irey and Ron Hall appeal the district court’s denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity for their involvement in preparing, reviewing and executing two search warrants, one issued on January 11, 1999 and the other issued on January 13, 1999. Defendants contend that although the two warrants lacked probable cause, their conduct was reasonable. We hold that Moore, Irey and Hall are entitled to qualified immunity for the January 11 warrant, but that Hall is not entitled to qualified immunity for the January 13 warrant. For this reason, we affirm in part, reverse in part and remand for further proceedings. BACKGROUND This case originates from a criminal investigation into the removal and disposal of an underground gasoline storage tank located on property purchased by KRL, a California general partnership. Participants in the criminal investigation included Moore, a California Highway Patrol Officer; Irey, a deputy district attorney for San Joaquin County who specializes in. . .