South Carolina man looks to Fourth Circuit after mistaken identity leads to jail time

Federal agents mistook Michael James Taylor for a suspect in a drug case, though he's 15 years older and a foot shorter.(CN) — A South Carolina man arrested and jailed for three weeks in a case of mistaken identity asked a Fourth Circuit panel Friday to revive his tort case against federal authorities.A district judge dismissed his case last year, but Michael James Taylor argues the lower court misapplied the discretionary-function exception of the Federal Tort Claim Act.The government’s attorney acknowledged federal agents made a mistake but said the error stemmed from investigatory decisions grounded in public-policy analysis.Taylor was arrested in 2020 after agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration mistook him for a suspect in a drug trafficking case.DEA agents had tapped Daniel Frazer’s cellphone and shadowed him as he traveled across North Charleston in a red Nissan Altima.But when it came time to make an arrest, agents nabbed Taylor. He was held for about three weeks at the county jail and lost both his jobs.The blunder arose from Frazer’s vehicle registration. The Nissan Altima was registered in Taylor’s name, but Taylor says agents should have realized they differed in age, appearance and addresses.Taylor sued the DEA and its agents in 2023 for civil rights violations, but the case was dismissed based on the discretionary-function exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act.The exception shields the federal government from tort liability for claims based on the performance, or nonperformance, of di15scretionary duties by a federal agency or employee, even when an employee is negligent.The court conducts a two-prong test to determine if a claim falls under the exception: Does the conduct involve an element of judgment or choice, and is that judgment grounded in policy analysis?U.S. Magistrate Judge Molly H. Cherry recommended dismissing the case, determining the agents were exercising their discretionary duties when they located and arrested Taylor.The agents failed to notice the differences between the two men, but “an investigation was performed, albeit perhaps poorly,” Cherry wrote in her report. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel, a Barack Obama appointee, adopted the magistrate judge’s findings and dismissed the case.Attorney Greg Cui of the D.C.-based Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center argued Friday the lower court failed to consider whether the agents acted carelessly or violated Taylor’s civil rights.The DEA agents arrested Taylor even though their own evidence made clear he was not the suspect, Cui said. The men are not related and Taylor is 15 years older and a foot shorter than Frazer, he said.“This kind of violation happens when the government is careless with its immense power,” Cui said.The lack of evidence further showed the agents did not have probable cause to arrest Taylor, he said.Attorney Anna Edwards, counsel for the U.S. Associate Attorney General, countered that the agents made investigatory decisions grounded in public-policy analysis. Even if those decisions were wrong, the government is shielded from liability.“Law enforcement got this wrong, and it is regretful, but the FTCA does not waive liability for every error of law or judgment,” she said.Edwards added that Taylor did not raise claims of carelessness or constitutional violations before the magistrate judge. While the arguments were raised before Gergel adopted the magistrate judge’s findings, he chose not to address them.U.S. Circuit Judge Pamela A. Harris, also an Obama appointee, said she was concerned Taylor had “sandbagged” the court by failing to raise those arguments before the magistrate.“Our magistrate judges work so hard, and the magistrate judge here did a really very thorough job on the arguments that were actually presented to her,” she said.U.S. Circuit Judge Nicole Berner, a Joe Biden appointee, questioned whether the complaint contained enough evidence to support an argument for carelessness. Taylor noted the age and height difference, as well as a difference of home addresses, but not how significant those differences are.U.S. Circuit Judge Roger Gregory, a George W. Bush appointee, also served on the panel.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads