Supreme Court Denies Cert. in Sixth Circuit Case

On October 2, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Case No. 06-38, Detroit Entertainment LLC v. Romanski.  A jury found that respondent had been arrested at a casino without probable cause and awarded her compensatory and punitive damages under 42 U.S.C. 1983.  The Sixth Circuit held, based on a provision of Michigan law, that the actions taken by the casino and one of its security guards constituted "state action" subjecting them to liability under section 1983.

The questions presented by the petition were:

1.  Has the Sixth Circuit fundamentally departed from this Court's state action jurisprudence, faithfully applied by other circuits, holding that private conduct that is contrary to state policy does not constitute "state action" for purposes of 42 U.S.C. 1983?

2.  Did the Sixth Circuit err in holding, contrary to decisions of other circuits and the Michigan Supreme Court, that an arrest by a private party constitutes state action?

Romanski is the only case from the Sixth Circuit on the Court's conference schedule thus far during the new 2006 term.