# Gomez v. Atkins

> Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · July 11, 2002 · 296 F.3d 253

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9813205

## Case

- **Full name:** Isidro GOMEZ; Linda L. Gomez, Wife, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. W.J. ATKINS, in His Official and Individual Capacity, Defendant-Appellant, and Earl Moose Butler, Sheriff of Cumberland County, in His Official and Individual Capacity; H.R. Collins, in His Official and Individual Capacity; Jerry D. Webster, in His Individual Capacity; Western Surety Company; Debra Koenig, Defendants
- **Court:** Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- **Decided:** July 11, 2002
- **Citations:** 296 F.3d 253; 2002 WL 1478343
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Hamilton
- **Judges:** Wilkinson, King, Hamilton
- **Cited by:** 53 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9813205

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- noting that in an assessment of objective reasonableness it is significant that an officer arrested a defendant only after first seeking and procuring the approval of a detached district court magistrate as this was a proper course of action

## Opinion text

HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge,
concurring:
For the reasons expressed by the court today, I agree with the court that Sergeant Atkins is entitled to qualified immunity because, notwithstanding the factual inaccuracies in Sergeant Atkins’ report, an objective law enforcement officer reasonably could have believed that probable cause existed for the arrest of Isidro. Therefore, I join the court’s opinion.
I write separately only to express my disdain for Sergeant Atkins’ inclusion of the material factual inaccuracies, described in Footnote 2 of the court’s opinion, in his report. These material factual inaccuracies, which dealt with. the heart of the State’s case, i.e., whether Isidro murdered his first wife, should not have been in Sergeant Atkins’ report. While the presence of these material factual inaccuracies in the report do not prevent Sergeant Atkins from invoking qualified immunity, it is' nevertheless a .disturbing commentary on the manner in which law enforcement activities are conducted in Cumberland County, North Carolina.

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9813205. Public record. Not legal advice.