FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—Today, an innocent woman who was arrested and jailed for three days in a case of mistaken identity filed a federal lawsuit against Broward County, Florida, and its sheriff’s deputies over her arrest. Jennifer Heath Box, represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), argues the arrest violated her constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, as well as her right to due process. 

In December 2022, Jennifer went on a cruise with family members to celebrate the news that her younger brother, Mark, had beat cancer for the second time. After a fun week aboard the Harmony of the Seas, the cruise ship returned to Port Everglades on the morning of Christmas Eve, giving Jennifer enough time to spend Christmas with her three adult children. But when Jennifer scanned her ID to get off the ship, police surrounded her and told her there was a warrant for her arrest for child endangerment out of Harris County, Texas. While the warrant was for a woman named Jennifer—the most common name for females born in the 1970s—it wasn’t for this Jennifer. 

“It was a really scary and confusing experience, because I’ve never had run-ins with law enforcement and I have no criminal record,” said Jennifer. “I couldn’t believe that I could be stopped, arrested, and jailed, just because my name was similar to someone they were looking for.” 

Jennifer knew they had the wrong person, so she calmly cooperated, giving police her license and date of birth, and explaining that all three of her children were now adults. Still, Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Peter Peraza handcuffed her on the ship and took her to a police car for additional questioning. In the car, Jennifer continued to lay out evidence that Peraza had the wrong person, but he insisted everything on the warrant matched Jennifer’s identification. It didn’t. 

The person listed on the warrant had obvious differences from Jennifer: 

• The suspect’s name was Jennifer Delcarmen Heath, not Jennifer Heath Box; 

• The suspect was 23 years younger than Jennifer, making her even younger than one of Jennifer’s children; 

• The suspect was five inches shorter than Jennifer; 

• The suspect had different color eyes, hair, and skin tone; 

• The suspect had a different home address, driver’s license number, social security number, and Harris County System Person Number; and 

• The suspect had five young children, compared to Jennifer’s three adult children. 

“Peraza had so much evidence that he had the wrong Jennifer, and he either ignored that evidence or deliberately misled other Broward County officials,” said IJ Attorney Jared McClain. “We must be able to hold government officials accountable when they overlook glaring evidence and arrest the wrong person.” 

When Peraza brought Jennifer to the police station, the booking officer ran her driver’s license number and told Peraza she had no outstanding warrants. Peraza doubled down yet again, insisting Jennifer was the right person based on the photo attached to the warrant. Jennifer was then strip searched and booked. Over the next three days, she faced horrible conditions. A male inmate routinely tried to enter Jennifer’s cell while she was alone, and officers blasted death metal over the speakers and freezing air into the cell, making it so cold that she had to sleep back-to-back with another inmate just to keep warm. 

While Jennifer was in custody, her family—including Mark, who is a police officer—did everything in their power to try to prove her innocence and get her out. Mark urged both Broward County and Harris County officials to compare Jennifer’s fingerprints to those of the suspect, but both agencies refused. Finally, thanks to Mark’s contacts, the family was able to figure out that a Harris County employee had accidentally attached Jennifer’s driver’s license photo to the warrant, instead of the suspect’s photo.  

“Nobody should fear arrest simply because their name is similar to that of someone who is wanted or because a government bureaucrat made a mistake with paperwork,” said IJ Litigation Fellow Bobbi Taylor. “This lawsuit is about making sure what happened to Jennifer doesn’t happen to anyone else. This needs to stop.” 

On December 27, Jennifer was finally released from custody. Broward County officials just told her, “It happens.” But by this point, she had already missed Christmas with her children, and her eldest son who serves in the Marines was deployed before she returned home.  

According to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, mistaken identity arrests occur almost every day. Even celebrities, such as rapper T.I. and actor Nick Offerman, have faced arrest over mistaken identity. In other cases of mistaken identity, Broward County officials have also arrested an innocent mother getting off a cruise ship on heroin and prostitution charges and arrested an innocent man with no criminal record for probation violation. Nationally, mistaken identity arrests occur when cruise passengers scan their ID to get on or off a cruise ship, such as happened to a Texas man, a New York woman, and a Louisiana woman, all of whom were arrested on cruises because their names were similar to individuals with warrants. Last June, IJ and a group of four men named David Sosa filed an amicus brief urging the United States Supreme Court to hear the case of an innocent man named David Sosa who was arrested twice in Martin County, Florida, in a case of mistaken identity.  

This case is part of IJ’s Project on Immunity and Accountability, which seeks to ensure that immunity doctrines do not prevent individuals from getting justice when government officials violate their rights. It is also part of IJ’s Project on the Fourth Amendment, which seeks to protect individuals from illegal searches and seizures.