Court Rejects First Amendment Claim Involving Persons' Failure to Provide ID
On August 2, 2022, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion finding no First Amendment violation where three individuals failed to provide their ID to a police officer where there was probable cause to arrest them. Lyberger v. Snider.
Three individuals followed a woman in her vehicle to her home. Once she arrived, the three individuals confronted and video-recorded the woman while she was parked in her driveway. She called 911 and when police arrived, they asked the three individuals for their identification, which they continuously refused. The officer then placed them under arrest for disorderly conduct and obstruction. All charges were eventually dismissed.
The plaintiffs then sued the City and police officers claiming various civil rights violations. The Seventh Circuit first analyzed the plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment claim and concluded that the police officers had reasonable suspicion to justify the initial detention as well as probable cause to arrest the three individuals.
The court then went on to analyze the plaintiffs’ First Amendment claim. The plaintiffs argued that the police officers violated their First Amendment rights by arresting them in retaliation for refusing to provide their ID cards per the police officers’ requests. The Seventh Circuit concluded the plaintiffs did not have a First Amendment right to withhold their identification. Although, the First Amendment generally prohibits police officers from subjecting individuals to retaliatory actions for engaging in protected speech, the Seventh Circuit held that probable cause to make an arrest (which was present in this case) defeated their claim that the arrest was in retaliation for protected speech. As a result, the plaintiffs’ claim that their First Amendment rights were violated also failed.
Authored by Molly Anne Krebs & Julie Tappendorf, Ancel Glink.
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