LEVKA V. CITY OF CHICAGO 748 F.2d 421 (7th Cir. 1984) CASE BRIEF

LEVKA V. CITY OF CHICAGO

748 F.2d 421 (7th Cir. 1984)

NATURE OF THE CASE: Chicago (D) appealed an award of damages to Levka (P) from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, as compensation for emotional injuries suffered as a result of a strip search pursuant to a misdemeanor arrest under 42 U.S.C.S. 1983.

FACTS: P was arrested at about 1:55 a.m. on December 2, 1975, on the corner across from her house at 1743 North Sedgwick, Chicago. She was taken to the police station at Chicago Avenue and State Street and telephoned her daughter, April Swenson, between 1:30 and 2:30 a.m., requesting her to come to the station and post $25 bond. When Swenson arrived at the station with her sister's boyfriend and one of P's neighbors, the police told them that P had been transferred to the Women's Detention facility. When P arrived at the lockup a matron took her to a small cell containing a long bench and a toilet. No other arrestees were present in the cell. The matron who escorted P to the cell asked her to remove her shoes, then inspected between her toes and placed her shoes outside the cell. The matron returned to P's cell with another matron. The first matron asked P to pull up her sweater and turn her bra inside-out. After asking 'why' and being informed 'just do it,' P complied. The matrons conducted a visual inspection from a distance of a couple of feet, and then told plaintiff that she could replace her bra and sweater. Then, one of the matrons asked her to lift up her skirt, pull down her underpants and pantyhose, bend over, and spread her buttocks. Again, P protested and was told 'just do it.' P complied. P testified, 'I felt debased and humiliated and degraded, abused, misused. . . . I was absolutely shocked and stunned and horrified. I was sickened.' P was released from jail about an hour or an hour and one-half after the strip search, approximately forty-five minutes after her daughter arrived at the lockup. When she saw her mother, Swenson testified, P looked pale and upset, as if she had been crying. After posting bond, they left the Detention Center between 4:00 and 4:30 a.m. P testified that in the weeks following the strip search she continued to be frightened and became afraid to go out alone at night. She testified that if she tried to go out alone, she would return home and fall apart. P consulted a psychiatrist one month after the search. P did not return for further consultation. As a result of the search, P claims that she continues to be afraid and that even now she will not go out alone at night. In fact, she testified that she no longer sees movies or attends parties, the ballet, or the theatre. Admittedly, P cannot separate the impact of her arrest from the impact of her strip search. P produced four witnesses to corroborate her testimony that she has suffered continuous and deep emotional trauma as a result of her strip search. P's business as a booking agent was affected because she was afraid to go out at night. D put witnesses on the stand who testified that they have seen P outside her home on a number of occasions since December 1975. The jury returned a verdict in favor of P in the amount of $50,000. The full amount of the award constituted compensation for 'emotional trauma and distress, mental and physical suffering, anguish, fear, humiliation and embarrassment.' With respect to P's claims for both lost earnings and loss or impairment of earning capacity, the jury found in favor of defendant, awarding no damages to P on either of those claims. D appealed; the award was excessive.

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LEGAL ANALYSIS:

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