Giraldo v. City of Hollywood, Florida

Law-enforcement officers (the officers) (defendants) arrested Christian Fernando Giraldo (plaintiff) following a domestic-violence dispute. Giraldo’s girlfriend had signed a complaint affidavit stating that Giraldo had pushed her onto the bed. Before making the arrest, the officers observed the bed in disarray. Giraldo filed an action in federal district court against the officers and the city of Hollywood (the city) (defendant). Giraldo claimed that the officers had unlawfully seized and arrested him and engaged in gender-based discrimination. Giraldo argued that one of the officers had a bias against males because she was a domestic-violence victim. Giraldo also claimed that the city had engaged in gender-based discrimination and had failed to train officers on how to avoid discrimination. As evidence, Giraldo introduced an expert to testify that for a domestic-violence dispute, officers often arrest the larger person, which is often the male. The city sought to exclude the expert testimony. Giraldo also introduced the city’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 250, which failed to list gender among the factors prohibited from consideration in making an arrest. In response, the city introduced SOP 121, which specifically stated that gender may not be used to establish probable cause for an arrest. In his complaint, Giraldo also alleged a First Amendment violation on the ground that he received a letter prohibiting him from speaking about the case. The officers and the city moved for summary judgment on all claims.