129 results for 'cat:"Civil Rights" AND cat:"Government"'.
J. Huffaker denies a legal advocacy nonprofit’s motion for a preliminary injunction in this civil right lawsuit against the Alabama governor for considering race when appointing members to professional boards and commissions. The group, which files lawsuits opposing other race-based criteria in grants, scholarships and other programs, says this practice is discriminatory, demeaning, patronizing and unconstitutionally resulted in a white woman not receiving a seat on the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board. The court finds the woman did suffer an injury and that the nonprofit has standing to sue for equal protection, but does not find that an injunction is necessary to prevent an irreparable injury.
Court: USDC Middle District of Alabama, Judge: Huffaker, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: 2:24cv104, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Equal Protection
J. Mosman denies the pharmaceutical trade group summary judgment for the commerce clause claim of its complaint alleging that Andrew Stolfi, Director of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, allowed disclosure laws that unfairly require pharmaceutical manufacturers to hand over trade secrets and threaten to publicize that information if the manufacturers decide to increase their prices. Neither party is entitled to summary judgment on the commerce clause, because neither party can definitely say how House Bill 4005, which is a law providing for “drug-pricing transparency," will effect interstate commerce.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Mosman, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: 6:19cv1996, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: civil Rights, Commerce, government
J. Griffin finds the lower court properly dismissed municipal liability claims against the city. Although the police chief intentionally avoided a background check on the officer who held the victim at gunpoint while off-duty and without any reason, there is no evidence to suggest the city should have known the officer would have committed this specific, unconstitutional act based on previous disciplinary issues with a Florida police department. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Griffin, Filed On: March 18, 2024, Case #: 23-5229, Categories: civil Rights, Evidence, government
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[Consolidated.] J. Biggs denies the state board of elections’ motion for summary judgment in an ongoing suit brought by the NAACP for alleged voting rights violations. While the board argues that the NAACP fails to demonstrate that things like requiring voters to have photo identification has racially discriminatory intent, the NAACP is correct that such requirements have historically been dsicriminatory. This and other genuine disputes of fact still exist.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Biggs, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 1:18cv1034, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Elections, government
J. DeGravelles orders the state of Louisiana to pay intervenors in a black voting rights suit, including several voters and a candidate for a state Supreme Court seat, the amount of $36,000 in reasonable attorney fees. The intervenors prevailed in their request to lift a stay of all Louisiana Supreme Court elections, pending reapportionment. The black plaintiffs were not "the driving force" behind the opposition to lifting the stay; state officials were, notably the state Attorney General who has since been elected Governor of Louisiana, along with its Secretary of State, who did not seek reelection. Both officials were heavily involved in the litigation surrounding whether the stay order would be lifted, and thus should have
known the intervenors would request attorney fees.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: DeGravelles, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 3:19cv479, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Attorney Fees
J. McKenna upheld a lower court’s refusal to dismiss two homeless individuals’ claims against Maui County officials for seizing their property in a sweep without holding a contested case hearing. The seized items were undoubtedly considered property under the due process clause, and the county ignored the individuals’ request for hearings after they were notified of the county’s intentions to sweep. The county also should not have destroyed the property after it was removed, similarly without any hearings or meetings. Affirmed.
Court: Hawai'i Supreme Court, Judge: McKenna, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: SCAP-22-368, Categories: civil Rights, government, Due Process
J. Kleeh adopts in part and rejects in part the one magistrate-judge's report and recommendation, and adopts in its entirety the second in the
landowners' civil rights suit claiming the deputy state auditor violated their rights to due process when he conveyed a tax deed of two lots to a woman who purchased the property in 2020 for unpaid 2019 taxes, despite her failure to notice them of their right to redeem the property. In adopting the reports and recommendations, the court denies the tax deed grantee's motion to dismiss since the statute in place at the time she acquired the property required her to provide the auditor's office a list of those to be served a notice of the right to redeem.
Court: USDC Northern District of West Virginia, Judge: Kleeh, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 2: 22cv17, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: civil Rights, government, Property
[Consolidated.] J. Cogburn grants a municipality’s motion to stay this suit during the ongoing appeal, sought by one of its police officers, of a negligence suit brought by a man the officer shot while he was at the local airport. The appeal must be resolved before the present suit can proceed.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv455, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Police Misconduct
J. Loken finds a lower court properly denied a citizen of India's motion for religious and political asylum. The citizen of India argued that he would face persecution in his native land at the hands of a ruling party. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that he consistently requested further continuances based on the Covid-19 pandemic shut down, and failed to present new evidence to support his claims. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 23-2289, Categories: civil Rights, government, Covid-19
J. Biggs recommends dismissal of a food stamps recipient’s complaint against the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services after granting his application to proceed solely for the purpose of recommending the dismissal. The recipient alleges the department discriminated against him by denying him food stamps based on drug charges in another state because he has a drug addiction, which the ADA considers a disability. However, the recipient does not meet the requirements of suit under the federal law he invokes, as the department is not a person and the recipient has not identified any associated person to sue.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Biggs, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv320, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Ada / Rehabilitation Act, government
J. Watson denies a temporary restraining order and injunction to a man claiming the government has been spying on him with planes, but only partially grants the government dismissal on the self-representing plaintiff’s unreasonable search claims. The man does not provide evidence that these planes he says are surveilling him belong to the military or FBI, disfavoring a temporary restraining order, but the remote possibility that the government is responsible means the complaint is not totally implausible.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Watson, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv329, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government
J. Chambers grants summary judgment to the commission and seven deputy sheriffs in a couple's complaint alleging the deputies violated their constitutional rights after they were dispatched to the couple's home in response to two brief 911 calls. After the husband was charged with domestic battery and interfering with a 911 call, deputies returned to the home in April 2022 to execute a search warrant and check on the two daughters' welfare when the mother failed to answer subpoenas to testify. The couple failed to establish the deputies engaged in any unlawful activity during their investigations.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Chambers, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv277, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Police Misconduct
J. Dick, ruling in a 91-page decision after a seven-day nonjury trial in December 2023, finds the state House and Senate electoral maps enacted by the Louisiana legislature violates the federal Voting Rights Act. Black litigants satisfied their burden of proving the electoral maps drawn by state legislators unlawfully dilutes black voting strength.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv178, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Elections, government
J. Kobayashi partially dismisses an asylee’s claims that the city discriminated against him in denying his applications to renew his Hawaii driver’s license, finding that there was no connection between his national origin and the denial. The asylee’s asylum application was pending when he also attempted to renew the driver’s license, leading to the denial, which was based more on federal regulations than discrimination. The city did offer him a limited purpose license, so he was not completely denied access to identification.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv429, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Licensing
J. Pitman dismisses a putative class action brought by male migrants against Governor Greg Abbott and other officials alleging they were “channeled into a separate criminal system” after being arrested for criminal trespass as part of Operation Lone Star — Texas’ state operation to counter human and drug smuggling — rather than being processed “through the normal state jail system.” The migrants said they sometimes “waited for weeks or months” for a defense attorney and were “detained for extended periods of time after they were eligible for release.” The migrants’ claims fail for a number of reasons, including because they have failed to show “direct involvement” of state officials in allegedly unconstitutional policies and because higher courts have rejected their arguments that they could seek injunctive relief despite no longer being in prison.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv397, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Immigration
J. Pitman grants a preliminary injunction barring Caldwell County and its officials from closing bail hearings to the public and the press after they were sued by Texas Tribune and other news outlets, which said the county had “adopted a policy of categorically closing” all such hearings. The public and press have a “presumptive” right to access such hearings and are being harmed by the lack of access, and Caldwell County has provided “no support” for its arguments that such hearings should remain closed.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv910, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, First Amendment
J. Dever denies two voters from a majority-Black Senate district in northeast North Carolina their motion for an extraordinary, mandatory preliminary injunction, which they claim is necessary to then establish a racially gerrymandered district in order to abide by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The voters allege that the General Assembly violated the Act precisely because it did not engage in race-based district creation, disadvantaging Black voters in majority-white state. However, as the 2024 elections are already under way, the two voters fail to show that the Voting Rights Act needs this injunction to initiate race-based grouping of voters, and doing so would likely confuse voters and create chaos that could compromise election integrity.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv193, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Elections, government
J. Cain grants a request for a preliminary injunction, barring the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice from enforcing any disparate impact mandates under Title VI laws against racial discrimination. The state of Louisiana has established an injury and, therefore, has standing to challenge the extra-regulatory requirements the EPA is imposing upon the state.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv692, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: civil Rights, Environment, government
J. Cole finds the lower court properly denied two of the Cincinnati police officers' motion for immunity on civil rights claims filed by the victims of a collision during a high-speed chase. Although the chase was the result of a joint investigation with the ATF, neither of the officers were deputized or under the direct command of a federal officer; therefore, they were not federal employees acting within the scope of their official duties. Affirmed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Cole, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 22-5496, Categories: civil Rights, government, Immunity
J. Bennett grants summary judgment in favor to Baltimore in this lawsuit brought by a protestor who argues an ordinance prohibiting his use of an A-frame anti-abortion sign on public walkways violates his First Amendment rights. Baltimore permitted him to wear or hold his sign, hand out pamphlets and speak with anyone on the sidewalk. Therefore, the protestor has ample alternative means for communicating his message, and his claims fail.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Bennett, Filed On: January 19, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv2587, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, First Amendment
J. Groh grants the town and its mayor's motion to dismiss the former police chief's retaliatory discharge suit claiming the mayor terminated his employment after he discovered that town officials and employees were abusing their authority. The mayor is entitled to qualified immunity since the former chief cannot cite any factual basis for the mayor's alleged abuse of power or how it violated clearly established law. Also, the former chief's Monell claim against the town fails since he did not provide any factual details on any policy the mayor or other city officials may have violated and the harm they caused.
Court: USDC Northern District of West Virginia, Judge: Groh, Filed On: January 16, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv145, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Employment Retaliation
J. Reidinger denies a group of white Asheville residents’ motion for class certification after it claimed Asheville’s city government discriminated against its members on the basis of race. The group, challenging a city HR policy which had specific demographic quotas for its volunteer-based commission, claimed that because the policy required certain numbers of people of color to be appointed, the city was discriminating against its members as white people. Of 46 white people in the class, 16 of them were appointed by the city, leaving 30 not appointed, but the class does not provide any evidence as to why those 30 were not appointed. Also, the city changed the policy a year prior, still encouraging marginalized people’s participation in the commission but removing any specific quotas, in effect negating the reason for the group’s complaint.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Reidinger, Filed On: January 16, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv259, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Class Action
J. Whitney dismisses the amended complaint of a mother claiming that a host of her constitutional rights have been violated by a county human services organization, a local housing authority and multiple of their individual employees. She says she was deprived her suitable housing, forced to carry out a birth that injured her and her child, and that her parental rights were improperly terminated. However, she seeks to sue people and organizations that have governmental immunity. Also, because her amendment has not changed from the original complaint, and because it is considered frivolous, it is dismissed with prejudice.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Whitney, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv762, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, government
J. Simon rules in part for defendants in civil rights claims because state law does not allow Lake County to elect its own superior court judges; however, the appointment process from the governor does not violate federal voting law. Meanwhile, the court lacks jurisdiction to make a decision on the merits of the remaining claims, which contend the judicial appointment process violates Indiana law.
Court: USDC Northern District of Indiana, Judge: Simon, Filed On: January 4, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv160, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: civil Rights, government, Jurisdiction
J. Chambers grants in part the motions to dismiss by the City of Huntington, Cabell County Commission, Cabell County Emergency Medical Services, and Cabell County Sheriff Chuck Zerkle from a Huntington couple's suit brought as executors of their daughter's estate. The couple claimed first responders violated the daughter's civil rights when they refused to have her evaluated after expressing thoughts of suicide, which she acted on later that day. After finding the couple failed to provide any facts as to how any of the defendants violated her rights to due process, the City's motion is granted on the other counts of state constitutional violations, tort of outrage and reckless infliction of emotional distress, ordinary and/or professional negligence, and disability discrimination under both the West Virginia Human Rights and the American's with Disabilities acts since they owed the daughter no "special relationship." While dismissing the Commission and CCEMS from the state law and constitutional claims, the couple have provided enough plausible facts to demonstrate Zerkle's policy of not responding to mental hygiene calls on Sundays discriminates against those with mental Illnesses.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Chambers, Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv13, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities - Other - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Ada / Rehabilitation Act, government
J. Berger grants in part the Summers County Sheriff's deputy's motion for summary judgment in the civil rights suit accusing him and two West Virginia State troopers of unlawfully entering an elderly Pence Spring woman's home in the course of executing an arrest warrant on her son, then using excessive force to restrain and arrest her. The deputy is entitled to qualified immunity on the count of unlawful entry since he did not accompany the troopers to serve the warrant, and, upon arriving after they began to subdue the woman, entered the home when one of the troopers claimed she assaulted him.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Berger, Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv148, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Police Misconduct