7th Circuit: Cat breeder's Fourth Amendment rights not violated when 37 cats, house seized.

Byline: Michaela Paukner, mpaukner@wislawjournal.com

An Illinois cat breeder'sFourth Amendment rights were not violated when authorities seized her home and her 37 cats, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday.

Sally Gaetjens, a cat breeder who lives in Loves Park, Illinois, sued the city, county and some oftheiremployees after they searched and seized her house and her cats in 2014.

Gaetjens sues for violation of Fourth Amendment

On Dec. 4, 2014, a doctor told Gaetjens to go to the hospital for her high blood pressure. Later that day, her doctor couldn'tlocate her and called Gaetjens' neighbor, who was her emergency contact, to check on her. The neighbor knocked on the door of Gaetjens' homeand gotno response.

Gaetjens was still missing the next day, so the neighbor called police. The officers got a key from the neighbor and went into Gaetjens' house. Upon entering, "intense odors" described as a mix of urine, feces and possibly a decomposing body forced them back out.

Firefighters then went into the house with breathing devices and temporarily condemned the home.They found 37 cats inside and called Winnebago County Animal Services to remove them. Four of the cats later died while in Animal Services' care.

Gaetjens, unbeknownst to police, had been in the hospital at the time of the search and seizure. She sued the city, county and various employees of each for violating her Fourth Amendment rights by going into her house, condemning it and taking her cats.

A judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division, determined that Gaetjens' claim failed because the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity. Gaetjens appealed, and the case went to the Seventh Circuit.

Case 'littered with emergencies,' rights not violated

A three-judge panel comprised of Judges Michael Kanne, Thomas Kirsch II and Michael Scudder Jr. agreed thatGaetjens claims failed, but not because of qualified...