District of Columbia v. Wesby

Summary

The Supreme Court unanimously reversed the D.C. Circuit, holding that officers had probable cause to arrest 21 partygoers for unlawful entry because the totality of the circumstances—the near-barren house converted into a makeshift strip club, the partygoers' scattering and hiding at the sight of police, their vague and implausible stories, and 'Peaches'' admitted lie—supported a reasonable inference that they knew they lacked permission to be in the house. The Court further held that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity because, even assuming no actual probable cause, they reasonably but mistakenly concluded that probable cause was present, and no precedent found a Fourth Amendment violation under similar circumstances. Because probable cause defeats all of the partygoers' claims, the District and its officers were entitled to summary judgment. Justice Sotomayor concurred in part and in the judgment, objecting that the Court need not have reached the merits of the probable-cause question, and Justice Ginsburg concurred in the judgment in part while questioning whether an officer's reason for acting should ever factor into the Fourth Amendment inquiry.