Karen Haugen v. Molly Fields

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiffs Karen Haugen and her child, P.L., appeal the district court’s dismissal of their 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims against Molly Fields, a social worker employed by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. We affirm.

Qualified immunity shields a government official from suits for damages unless her official conduct violates a constitutional right that is “clearly established,” meaning it is “sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what [she] is doing violates that right.” Cousins v. Lockyer, 568 F.3d 1063, 1069-70 (9th Cir. 2009) (citing Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194 , 202, 121 S.Ct. 2151 , 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001)).

With respect to the plaintiffs’ procedural due process claim, the actual notice Fields provided to Haugen regarding the next day’s shelter care hearing did not violate a clearly established constitutional right. Although the due process claim depends on federal constitutional law, not state law, it is worth noting that under Washington law, only minimal process is due before a shelter care hearing. See In re H. W., 70 WashApp. 552, 854 P.2d 1100, 1101 (Wash.App.1993). Parents are entitled to “notice and an…