Martinez Marvan v. Slaughter

(Filed: Jul. 1, 2025)

On July 1, 2025, the Helena Police Department and agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol pulled over 31-year-old Christopher Martinez Marvan. At the time, Helena Police and ICE were conducting a joint operation related to the arrest of a different Latino man. Helena Police stated that they stopped Martinez Marvan because they believed him to be the target of this operation.  

The Fourth Amendment prohibits detaining any individual absent reasonable suspicion that they committed a crime or are in the United States unlawfully. Shared racial or ethnic characteristics are not reasonable basis for determining that someone has committed a crime or is in the United States unlawfully. To the extent the Helena Police Department detained Martinez Marvan because he is Latino and they were looking for a Latino man, their stop and subsequent detention violates the Fourth Amendment.   

Hours after the initial arrest, Martinez Marvan filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the District of Montana. The petition challenged his detention as a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights and asked the Court to prevent him from being removed from Montana or the United States until his claims can be heard. 

On July 2, 2025, the Court ordered that Martinez Marvan remain in Montana until his petition is resolved. An initial hearing took place on July 10, 2025.