Pansy Blackwell v. Jim Hohn ( 2000 )


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  •                     United States Court of Appeals
    FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
    _____________
    No. 00-1190EA
    _____________
    Pansy Blackwell,                         *
    *
    Appellant,                   * On Appeal from the United States
    * District Court for the
    v.                                 * Eastern District of Arkansas.
    *
    Jim Hohn (originally sued as Jim         * [To Be Published]
    Haun),                                   *
    *
    Appellee.                    *
    ___________
    Submitted: December 5, 2000
    Filed: December 29, 2000
    ___________
    Before RICHARD S. ARNOLD, HANSEN, and BYE, Circuit Judges.
    ___________
    PER CURIAM.
    Pansy Blackwell brought a 
    42 U.S.C. § 1983
     action claiming that, after she had
    pleaded guilty to a municipal charge, Police Chief Jim Hohn conducted a warrantless
    search of her home in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Hohn moved for summary
    judgment and presented undisputed evidence that, upon arriving at the jail to begin
    serving her sentence, Blackwell lost consciousness; she was transported to an
    emergency room; and at the behest of medical personnel, he retrieved medication from
    Blackwell’s residence and delivered it to the emergency room. The District Court1
    granted Hohn’s motion, dismissed the complaint, and denied Blackwell’s motions for
    reconsideration. Blackwell appeals.
    Upon de novo review, see Brouhard v. Lee, 
    125 F.3d 656
    , 659 (8th Cir. 1997),
    we conclude that Hohn’s retrieval of Blackwell’s medications from her home fell within
    an exception to the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches, see
    Mincey v. Arizona, 
    437 U.S. 385
    , 392 (1978) (need to protect or preserve life or avoid
    serious injury justifies what would otherwise be illegal absent emergency), and
    therefore did not violate Blackwell’s Fourth Amendment rights. We find no abuse of
    discretion in the District Court’s denial of Blackwell’s postjudgment motions. See
    Schoffstall v. Henderson, 
    223 F.3d 818
    , 827 (8th Cir. 2000) (standard of review).
    Accordingly, we affirm. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.
    A true copy.
    Attest:
    CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.
    1
    The Honorable James Maxwell Moody, United States District Judge for the
    Eastern District of Arkansas.
    -2-