A University of Miami Law Review article asks whether the Eleventh Circuit's approach to mistaken-identity detention gives enough protection to people arrested on warrants for somebody else with the same name.
The 2025 article, by Jared McClain and Dylan Moore, analyzes Sosa v. Martin County, a Florida case in which David Sosa was detained for roughly three days on a warrant intended for a different person.
The governing decision
In January 2023, the Eleventh Circuit sitting en banc rejected Sosa's Fourteenth Amendment substantive-due-process overdetention claim on the pleaded facts. It applied the Supreme Court's decision in Baker v. McCollan, involving detention pursuant to a valid warrant and a mistaken identity. A later panel disposition addressed remaining claims.
The scholarly criticism
McClain and Moore argue that mistaken-identity detentions should instead be assessed under the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness framework. Their analysis questions whether a short detention should escape constitutional review when readily available information suggests authorities have the wrong person. Their proposal is scholarly commentary, not a change to binding law.
Why attorneys should read it
Attorneys evaluating a mistaken-arrest case need the warrant, officer descriptions, fingerprint comparisons, detention timeline, correction requests and communications. They also need to distinguish claims concerning initial arrest from claims about continued detention. The case law may differ depending on the precise claim and facts.
Sources
- McClain and Moore, What's in a Name?, 79 U. Miami L. Rev. 783 (2025).
- Sosa v. Martin County, en banc decision (2023).
- Sosa, subsequent panel disposition (2023).
Legal sources reviewed October 8, 2026. This is original news analysis, not individualized legal advice.
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