Dear John,

I’m writing to you with a quick update in our case on behalf of Jennifer Heath Box, who was arrested on Christmas Eve 2022 as she disembarked a Florida cruise ship and then was held in jail for three days. Deputies had a warrant for an entirely different Jennifer—someone 23 years younger and five inches shorter.

This week, a court denied the government’s motion to dismiss the case. I usually don’t fill you in on preliminary victories in our cases, but I’m doing so here because the judge also rejected qualified immunity for the officers who arrested Jennifer, saying precedent is clear that officers can't execute a warrant on the wrong person when they know of a significant discrepancy between the person arrested and the person described in the warrant. Qualified immunity, as you know, shields government officials from lawsuits when they violate someone’s rights unless that right is “clearly established.” It’s a very steep legal hill to overcome, and we were able to do so here.

Watch the video on Jennifer's case here.

This is not the only case IJ is litigating to ensure officials are held accountable when they arrest the wrong person without doing any due diligence whatsoever. In 2024, U.S. Marshals violently arrested 67-year-old Penny McCarthy as she stood in her front yard. Their real target? Carol Rozak, a woman with no connection to Penny at all, wanted for a 1999 parole violation related to a nonviolent crime. You can watch that outrageous video here. (As many have observed, even if they had the right woman, why are federal agents treating a senior citizen grandmother wanted for a decades-old parole violation for a nonviolent crime in this manner?)

It's still early in Jennifer’s case, and the officials may appeal the denial of qualified immunity, but this is still a big step on the road to justice for Jennifer. IJ will continue to fight to protect the constitutional right to be free from arbitrary arrest and detention.

Scott

Scott G. Bullock
President and Chief Counsel
Institute for Justice