Officer Violated Fourth Amendment by Entering Home under Ruse for Administrative Inspection, but Is Entitled to Qualified Immunity

In Whalen v. McMullen, published October 30, 2018, the 9th Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of a Washington State Patrol detective in a suit alleging the officer conducted a search of the plaintiff's house that violated the Fourth Amendment.  The plaintiff was receiving Social Security Disability benefits.  A task force that investigates potential social security fraud, investigated the plaintiff.  The task force designates investigations as either civil, criminal, or administrative.  As was common for administrative investigations, the defendant investigating detective did not obtain a search warrant, and used a ruse to communicate with the plaintiff:  the officer stated he was conducting a law enforcement investigation of identity theft.  The plaintiff spoke with the officer in front of her house, and then invited him inside.  The officer wore two hidden video cameras.  The officer spoke with the plaintiff for an hour, then left.  Based on the information the officer provided, the plaintiff's benefits were denied in part.  She was not subject to any civil or criminal action.  The plaintiff alleged that the portion of the detective's encounter with her inside her home violated the Fourth Amendment.  The district court granted the detective summary judgment based on qualified immunity.

The 9th Circuit ruled that the entry into the home, without a warrant, with hidden video cameras, and under cover of a ruse, violated the Fourth Amendment as an improper warrantless search.  It distinguished cases where, as a condition of receiving benefits, people had to allow warrantless entry into their homes, because in those cases the grounds for the entry are transparent.  Here, because the investigator identified himself as a law enforcement officer, the investigation was under a ruse and the plaintiff did not know about the video cameras, the investigator gained entry by invoking the individual's trust in her government, and then betraying it.  But because no precedent clearly established that the detective's actions would violate the Fourth Amendment, the detective was entitled to qualified immunity.