Directed Verdict In Civil Rights Action Reversed.

More than a dozen Halloween partygoers were swept up and detained by a Sheriff’s SWAT team for up to 14 hours. The party, an annual event with hundreds of costumed attendees, had drawn neighbor complaints over the years. Based on a flyer that advertised a “Casino Room,” at the party, the Sheriff’s department obtained a search warrant to look for evidence of illegal gambling at the party. The search yielded two slot machines and three grams of marijuana in an attendee’s purse. Citing 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the partygoers sued the department and some officers for violation of their civil rights “to be free from unlawful seizure by prolonging their detention beyond the conclusion of the search of the residence.” By the time of trial, there was only one defendant, an officer; the court granted a directed verdict in that officer’s favor after a six-week trial. The appellate court reversed as to plaintiffs’ claims alleging prolonged detention under § 1983 and affirmed in all other respects. (Guillory v. Hill (Cal. App. Fourth Dist., Div. 3; January 16, 2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 240, [182 Cal.Rptr.3d 513].)