Lyndall Rhoden v. United States

Lyndall Rhoden brought this action for false arrest and imprisonment against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) after being detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) for six days without a hearing upon his return to California from a trip to Jamaica. The district court granted summary judgment for the government. Rhoden appeals.

I.

Lyndall Rhoden has been a lawful permanent resident of the United States since 1968. In October 1986, Rhoden returned to California from a one-week trip to Jamaica to attend his grandmother’s funeral. After questioning by an INS officer, Rhoden signed a sworn statement that when he returned to the United States after a vacation in 1982 or 1983, customs agents found 2.6 kilograms of marijuana in his luggage. The statement also indicated that he had not been arrested, but had been required to pay a fíne of $1200.

After giving his statement, Rhoden was allowed to go home, but was told to report back in six days. When he returned, he was taken into custody on the charge that he was excludable because he had been convicted of possession of marijuana. He asked to be taken before an immigration judge and to be…