FOR PUBLICATION

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT:    ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE:

WILLIAM E. DAILY     ELLEN WHITE QUIGLEY
Danville, Indiana     PETER A. SCHROEDER
    Indianapolis, Indiana
    
     DALE R. SIMMONS
    Indianapolis, Indiana

     JEFFREY A. MODISETT
    Attorney General of Indiana

     JON B. LARAMORE
    Deputy Attorney General

LAWRENCE T. NEWMAN, and        )
BEVERLY R. NEWMAN,                  )
    Appellants-Plaintiffs,          )
                                    )
        vs.                         )    No. 49A04-9710-CV-448
                                    )
CHARLES J. DEITER,                  )
PAUL COMMISKEY,                     )
CHRISTOPHER SEIGEL,                 )
MARION COUNTY SHERIFF, and          )
MICHAEL BISHOP,                     )
    Appellees-Plaintiffs.           )

RATLIFF, Senior Judge

and their attorney for approximately an hour. There is conflicting evidence about who made the request, but the Newmans complaint alleges that at approximately 11:00 p.m. Seigel suggested calling Judge Deiter at his office to arrange an emergency “best interests” hearing. Seigel then called Judge Deiter and arranged for the hearing. Judge Deiter agreed to stay his removal order until the Newmans could return home and have a few minutes with L.C. before she was removed, if they did not succeed at the hearing. The Newmans, their attorney, and Seigel left the Newmans' home to attend the hearing. No one from CBI or WCDSS was present at the hearing.
    Judge Deiter held the hearing in his office. According to the complaint, no court reporter was present, no witnesses were sworn and no record was made of that hearing. After approximately 45 minutes, Judge Deiter announced to the Newmans that he was ordering the Sheriff to their home to remove L.C., and that they were not allowed to leave his office until this was accomplished. Judge Deiter, in an affidavit submitted to the trial court in response to the Newmans' motion to correct errors, stated that he did this because Mrs. Newman appeared to be visibly agitated and emotionally unstable, Mrs. Newman's statements led Judge Deiter to believe that she would not voluntarily give up the child, and the Newmans would attempt to prevent removal of L.C., thereby creating an emotionally upsetting scene at their home. Judge Deiter further stated that he believed it to be in L.C.'s best interest for the Sheriff to remove L.C. from the Newmans' home immediately. Judge Deiter ordered two deputies to guard the inner and outer areas of his office to prevent the Newmans from leaving.

correct errors in which he invited the trial court to convert his motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment. On March 3, 1997, the trial court granted the Newmans' request for entry of separate judgment under T.R. 54(B). On March 27, 1997, the Newmans filed a motion to correct errors and memorandum in support thereof. Oral argument was heard on the pending motions on June 2, 1997. On June 30, 1997, the trial court denied the motion to correct errors and entered a final judgment in favor of the Sheriff.

U.S. 951, 98 S.Ct. 2862, 56 L.Ed.2d 795. He will be subject to liability only when he has acted in the clear absence of all jurisdiction. Id.
    We agree with the Newmans that the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals' comments about judicial immunity made in passing, in an opinion involving the same factual situation, are not precedent in this case and are dicta. However, we find them to be helpful in our resolution of this issue. We agree with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals' statement as follows:
    In detaining the Newmans the judge was acting in his judicial capacity in a matter that was within at least the outer bounds of his jurisdiction; no more is required for the doctrine to apply. . . .Given the ever-present potential for violence in domestic-relations situations, Judge Deiter would have been acting well within the scope of a domestic-relations judge's judicial function had he enjoined the Newmans from returning home until [L.C.] was removed. But as it was midnight when the hearing was held. . .compliance with the usual formalities attendant upon the issuance of an injunction would not have been practicable. So the judge just told them to stay put. The informality of the proceeding did not destroy the immunity, as is clear from Mireles v. Waco, supra, a factually similar case in which the Supreme Court reversed a denial of absolute immunity. (citations omitted).

Newman v. State of Indiana, et al., 129 F.3d 937, 941 (7th Cir. 1997).
    The Seventh Circuit went on to state as follows:
    It is irrelevant that the judge may have erred or that he may have had an improper motive. . .Immunity washes out errors, and absolute immunity washes out bad motives.

Id at 942. See footnote 3

1227, 1228 (Ind. 1996); Ind. Trial Rule 56(C). This is true even if the court believes the non- moving party will not succeed at trial. Dague v. Fort Wayne Newspapers, Inc., 647 N.E.2d 1138, 1140 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995), trans. denied. Summary judgment should not be used as an abbreviated trial. Watters v. Dinn, 633 N.E.2d 280, 285 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994).
    The trial court must enter summary judgment if designated evidentiary matter shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Rosi v. Business Furniture Corporation, 615 N.E.2d 431, 434 (Ind. Ct. App. 1993). An appellate court is prohibited from reversing summary judgment orders on the ground that there is a genuine issue of material fact unless material facts and relevant evidence were specifically designated to the trial court. Id.
    The Newmans raise several issues regarding the Sheriff's conduct as it relates to the meeting in their home prior to the emergency hearing and in the judge's office after the emergency hearing. Among the Newmans' arguments that summary judgment was inappropriate are the following: 1.) that the Sheriff had discretion with respect to the enforcement of Judge Deiter's orders, thereby destroying judicial immunity, 2.) that the Sheriff was not enforcing Judge Deiter's orders, but was acting in furtherance of the alleged conspiracy of which the Sheriff and Judge Deiter were co-conspirators, 3.) that the order they challenge was Judge Deiter's oral order to temporarily detain the Newmans in his office until execution of his removal order had been completed, and that because the order was oral, the content of the order is unknown to them and thus, inappropriate for summary judgment, 4.) that there is a dispute over material facts, because the Sheriff, in its motion for summary

judgment argued that the facts were undisputed for purposes of summary judgment only, while pleading disagreement over some facts in its answer, 5.) that the writ of assistance issued by Judge Deiter did not comply with normal procedures for contempt, thereby rendering the Sheriff's actions illegal, 6.) that the Newmans made no admissions in their response to the Sheriff's request for admissions, and 7.) that since the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights allegedly creates a cause of action in the Newmans which supersedes any judicial immunity, immunity cannot absolve the Sheriff of liability.
    A detailed discussion and resolution of many of these arguments is unnecessary because of our determination that Judge Deiter is afforded absolute judicial immunity for his actions in this matter. We note that many of the arguments presented above do not relate to the issue of appropriateness of summary judgment, but rather invite us to determine issues alleged in the Newmans' complaint. Therefore, we decline to determine those issues, and focus instead on the designated evidence which was before the trial court on the issue of summary judgment and the appropriateness of the trial court's determination.
    We have held that absolute judicial immunity extends to persons performing tasks so integral or intertwined with the judicial process that these persons are considered an arm of the judicial officer who is immune. J.A.W., 650 N.E.2d at 1151-52. Moreover, we have held that the act of executing or enforcing a court order is a function intrinsically associated with judicial proceedings. Id., at 1152. Moreover, a non-judicial officer who acts in furtherance of a valid court order cannot be deprived of immunity. Id. In addition, we have held that a sheriff who detains an individual for an extended period of time solely as a result of a judge's

order is still entitled to judicial immunity from a claim of false imprisonment. Grant County Commissioners v. Cotton, 677 N.E.2d 1103, 1105 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997).
    Accepting all of the statements in the Newmans' complaint as true, which would be to construe all genuine issues of material fact in a light most favorable to the Newmans, the non-moving party, summary judgment was appropriate. The evidence discloses that the Sheriff was acting in furtherance of Judge Deiter's order to temporarily detain the Newmans while the removal order was being executed. The absolute judicial immunity afforded Judge Deiter properly extended to the Sheriff for those acts in furtherance of the judge's orders. The trial court did not err.

paragraphs of the complaint, however, the Newmans fail to allege any conduct on Bishop's part relating to this claim.
    In order to recover under the claim of tortious interference with a contractual relationship five elements must be shown. Winkler, 638 N.E.2d at 1235. Those elements are: 1.) the existence of a valid and enforceable contract, 2.) the defendant's knowledge of the existence of the contract, 3.) the defendant's intentional inducement of breach of the contract, 4.) the absence of justification, and 5.) Damages resulting from the defendant's wrongful inducement of the breach. Id.
    As stated above, we can find no allegations in the record which indicate Bishop's involvement in interfering with the Newmans' contractual rights. The trial court properly granted Bishop's motion to dismiss as to Count III.
    Counts IV and Counts V of the Newmans' complaint allege that Bishop violated the Newmans' right to privacy and committed defamation, libel and slander against the Newmans. In addition to failing to cite to any authority to support the Newmans' argument that their complaint does state a claim against Bishop, the Newmans failed to make any argument in support of these claims during the hearing on the motion to dismiss. However, we will consider the Newmans' arguments below.
    Again, we have searched the Newmans' complaint for any allegations involving Bishop's conduct which could establish a violation of the Newmans' right to privacy, defamation, libel, or slander. We find no allegations in that regard. Bishop was not involved in the preparation or release of the materials alleged to be libelous or defamatory. Neither

are there facts to indicate that Bishop made statements which would constitute slander. In fact, there is no reference made to conduct by Bishop at all. The trial court did not err in granting Bishop's motion to dismiss Counts IV and V.
    Count VIII of the Newmans' complaint alleges that Bishop was involved in a civil conspiracy to violate the Newmans' right to privacy, to interfere with the Newmans' adoption contract with WCDSS, to defame, libel and slander the Newmans, and to falsely imprison the Newmans. The trial court granted Bishop's motion to dismiss. We agree with the trial court.
    We previously stated that in Indiana there is no independent cause of action for civil conspiracy. See Winkler, 638 N.E.2d at 1234. Moreover, the only allegation made with regard to Bishop's conduct is that he opposed the Newmans' attempt to obtain a stay of Judge Deiter's removal order. This allegation is not sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss. The trial court correctly dismissed this count against Bishop.

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