DEVON W. BROWN, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus CITY OF ATLANTA, Georgia, BRYANT BURNS, et al., Defendants-Appellants., 778 Fed. Appx. 728

Summary

HOLDINGS: [1]-Law enforcement officers were entitled to qualified immunity in a private club owner's 42 U.S.C.S. §1983 action, claiming that officers' entry into his club violated his Fourth Amendment right to be free from warrantless entry, because the law was not clearly established that the administrative inspection exception to the warrant requirement would not be applicable under the circumstances where officers noticed a number of cars parked outside and loud music coming from inside at 4:00a.m., and the fact that officers entered through an unlocked front door where no bouncer was present undermined the owner's suggestion that the officers should have realized from the "private club" sign that the club was a small, private club with a well-enforced policy of allowing entrance only to members.