Can a social worker be found to have violated a mother's constitutional right by removing her daughter from her home without a warrant?

Similarly, in Mabe v. San Bernardino Cty. , 237 F.3d 1101, 1109 (9th Cir. 2001), viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff family, we held that a jury could have found that a defendant social worker violated a mother's clearly established constitutional rights by removing her teenage daughter from her home without a warrant. We were unpersuaded that the sexual abuse allegations were exigent as a matter of law, even though the teenager's stepfather sexually abused her by "touch[ing] her breasts and crotch area through her clothing at night in her bedroom ... every other night for ... two or three months." Id. at 110405. We reasoned that, "[a]lthough the conduct by the stepfather was clearly inappropriate, it did not involve violence or penetration and the only time it had taken place was at night when MD was in her bedroom. Assuming that [the worker] could obtain a warrant the same day ..., it is difficult to understand how the further delay of a few hours necessary to obtain the warrant would have put MD in imminent danger of serious physical injury." Id. at 1108 (internal footnote omitted). That conclusion was further underscored by the fact that the social worker "opted to leave MD in the residence after interviewing MD and Mabe about the alleged molestation."¹¹ Id.