The Eighth Circuit held that a family court judge violated the Fourth Amendment when he had two children locked in holding cells after they refused to leave with their mother following a custody hearing. The decision, authored by Judge David Stras, rejected both judicial immunity and qualified immunity, allowing a jury verdict of $5,000 per child to stand.
The children, who had appeared on America's Got Talent, were in a custody dispute between their parents. After the hearing, they refused to go with their mother. The judge brought them to a conference room, threatened foster care, and eventually ordered a juvenile officer to lock them in separate cells for 20 to 40 minutes. The court found no probable cause that they committed an offense, and no exigent circumstances.
The court emphasized that "good faith" does not excuse the violation because there was no reasonable reliance on precedent or a warrant. It also noted that criminal contempt was unavailable because the children were not parties to the case and were not in the courtroom. The ruling affirms that a custody plan is not a substitute for constitutional protections.