Florentina Demuth v. County of Los Angeles

A deputy sheriff briefly arrested counsel Florentina Demuth pursuant to a judicial command that she appear in court. We decide whether the deputy is protected by qualified immunity.

FACTS

This story begins in Los Angeles’s Los Padrinos Juvenile Courthouse. Florentina Demuth, a public defender, arrived shortly after 8:30 a.m. She had a hearing for one of her clients that day, though it wasn’t set for a specific time. Around 9:00 a.m., she had a brief conversation with Heidi Shirley, who was the presiding referee in Demuth’s case. Demuth also had a conversation with opposing counsel in which Demuth indicated that she didn’t intend to return to court until approximately 1:30 p.m. Demuth then left to work in her office, which was located in a different part of the building. A short while later, Referee Shirley asked Li, the sheriffs deputy on duty in her courtroom, to page Demuth over the court’s intercom. Deputy Li paged Demuth several times. Demuth heard at least one page, but she didn’t respond. Deputy Li also telephoned Demuth’s direct line. Demuth heard her direct line ringing, but she didn’t answer.

This was not unusual. Lawyers, especially public defenders, were…