Basant Sidhu v. S. Garcia

MEMORANDUM

Basant Sidhu and Sanjesh Singh appeal the summary judgment entered by the district court against them. We affirm. Because the parties are familiar with the history of the case, we need not recount it here.

I

The district court properly granted summary judgment on the Fourth Amendment claims, correctly concluding that the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity. In order to determine if qualified immunity applies, a two-part inquiry should be conducted: (1) did an officer’s conduct violate a constitutional right; and (2) was the right which was violated clearly established at the time of the violation. Espinosa v. City & Cty. of San Francisco, 598 F.3d 528, 532 (9th Cir.2010). If an officer did not violate a constitutional right, then that officer is entitled to qualified immunity. Id.

In this case, the district court correctly determined that the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights were not violated. The warrant-less search was justified by the emergency exception to the Fourth Amendment. The emergency exception is an extension of “police officers’ community caretaking function” because it allows officers to respond to “emergency situations that threaten life…