D.C. house party central to Supreme Court case
WASHINGTON — A late-night party that turned a vacant Washington home into a busy strip club was at the center of a Supreme Court argument Wednesday, prompting the justices to discuss strippers, marijuana and a party host named “Peaches.”
At one point, Justice Stephen Breyer created a fictional party host named Joe to probe issues in the case, which revolves around whether police had sufficient reason to arrest the partygoers for trespassing.
“I am told younger people frequently say, hey, there’s a party at Joe’s house. And before you know it, 50 people go to Joe’s house,” Breyer said.
The case the justices were hearing involves arrests police made back in 2008 when responding to calls from neighbors complaining about illegal activity at the vacant house. Police arrived to find the home had been turned into something strip club.
Music was playing. People were drinking. And scantily clad women were performing lap dances wearing cash-stuffed garter belts.
Partygoers told conflicting stories about the party’s occasion. A woman named Peaches, who wasn’t there, was identified by some as the party’s host. Reached by phone, Peaches eventually told police she had invited people to the home but didn’t have the homeowner’s resembling approval to use the place. A total of 21 people were arrested for trespassing, though charges were later dropped.
Many of them later sued police over the arrests and were awarded $680,000 plus attorney’s fees.
In addition to deciding whether the officers had sufficient reason to arrest the partygoers, the court also will determine whether the officers should be shielded from liability even if their actions are found to violate the law.