129 results for 'cat:"Civil Rights" AND cat:"Government"'.
J. Beger denies the Summers County deputy sheriff's motion for summary judgment in the civil rights lawsuit accusing him and a West Virginia State trooper of using excessive force to restrain and arrest a 75-year-old woman when the trooper came to her home on March 31, 2020, to arrest her son on an outstanding warrant. Though not named as a co-defendant until the complaint was amended on July 15, 2022, it was not until the woman's attorney combed through evidence that she was aware the deputy contributed to her injuries.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Berger, Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv148, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Elder Abuse
Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court properly dismissed this civil rights suit alleging that the DHS and its agents unlawfully accessed and tampered with the attorney's computer network and telecom systems because of her advocacy. Certain claims were correctly dismissed due to sovereign immunity, which the United States has not waived. Other claims are modified as dismissed without prejudice. Affirmed as modified.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: 22-40665, Categories: civil Rights, government, Technology
J. Johnson finds that the lower court properly ruled against a Washington state statute that sought to require sheriffs of certain counties to get permission from the county commissioners board before being allowed to deploy tear gas during a riot. The decision to deploy tear gas during a riot falls squarely under the authority of the sheriff's office, as it their right to decide what level of force is needed to carry out their responsibilities. The new statute attempted to transfer that authority without good cause or sound legal footing, and the statute, therefore, was an unlawful interference with the sheriffs of the state. Affirmed.
Court: Washington Supreme Court, Judge: Johnson, Filed On: September 14, 2023, Case #: 101375-2 , Categories: civil Rights, government
J. Hanen finds, in part, for a preacher who now seeks to pass out pamphlets and display signs on a busy street corner, after losing his legal battle to preach at the busy intersection. The preacher is entitled to an injunction preventing the enforcement of the county's restrictive policy, as he has shown an irreparable injury and the balance of hardships tips in his favor.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Hanen, Filed On: September 12, 2023, Case #: 4:19cv4259, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Injunction
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J. Robart partially grants the government's and the city's joint stipulated motion to approve their compliance agreement, which arises from the government's attempt to seek a judgment ordering the city's police department to adopt policies to end the pattern or practice of using excessive force. For at least two years, the city has complied with the consent decree commitments regarding "crisis intervention, stops and detentions, bias-free policing, supervision, and the Office of Police Accountability."
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Robart, Filed On: September 7, 2023, Case #: 2:12cv1282, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Settlements
J. Goodwin grants West Virginia’s motion to dismiss with prejudice one of the named plaintiffs in the child welfare class action. Since the child - now an adult - was in the custody of the Bureau of Juvenile Services, and not the Department of Health and Human Resources from June through December 2019, he "was not 'a foster child . . . in the foster care custody of DHHR' at the time this class action was filed."
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Goodwin , Filed On: September 1, 2023, Case #: 3:19cv710, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Class Action
[Consolidated]. J. Kobes finds a lower court properly dismissed constitutional rights claims brought by the Satanic Temple concerning a City's denial of the erection of a public monument. The Satanic Temple argued that the City gave the green light to place two monuments in a Veterans Memorial Park. However, the City presented sufficient evidence in court that its second complaint was barred by res judicata. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kobes, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 21-3079, Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, government
J. Tymkovich finds that the lower court properly dismissed a lawsuit from two sign companies that alleged Colorado's regulations regarding road signs are unlawful. Under state law, a sign that was paid for requires a permit, such as a company advertisement, while a sign that nobody paid for, such as a public service announcement, does not require a permit of any kind. The two companies allege this distinction violates free speech rights, but the law passes constitutional muster because it allows the state to further its goals of promoting important issues, such as roadside safety. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Tymkovich, Filed On: August 22, 2023, Case #: 21-1448, Categories: civil Rights, government
J. Goodwin grants in part and denies in part 12 current and former foster care children’s motion for class certification and appointment of class counsel in their civil rights suit challenging “systemic deficiencies” in the state of West Virginia’s child welfare system. Finding the children’s
claims are “tailor-made for class resolution,” the court grants the motion for approval of one general class and one Americans with Disabilities Act subclass, but denies the motion for a kinship subclass. Also, the court appoints seven attorneys, one law firm and two child advocacy groups as class counsel.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Goodwin, Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: 3:19cv710, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Class Action
J. Pitman rules in favor of the government in a civil rights action brought by individuals arising from the Treasury Department's decision to add Tornado Cash to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list. Although the individuals claim Tornado Cash is an open-source software project on a virtual currency blockchain, the government claims it is an organization running a cryptocurrency mixing service laundering money for illicit actors including a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group. The government's designation of Tornado Cash does not exceed its statutory powers and is not inconsistent with its regulations. Tornado Cash has a property interest in the smart contract software programs because they provide it with a means to control and use crypto assets. The government's action does not implicate the First Amendment.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv312, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: civil Rights, government
J. Quattlebaum finds the lower court improperly dismissed the parents' claim for failure to state a claim rather than for lack of standing. The parents, angry about a Board policy authorizing schools to create gender care plans for students without notifying parents, do not have children that are transgender, are transitioning, are considering transitioning or are struggling with gender identity issues. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Quattlebaum , Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 22-2034, Categories: civil Rights, Education, government
J. Otake declines to stay proceedings in a physician’s challenge to the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA’s regulations on the medication abortion drug mifepristone, finding that a stay would cause unreasonable delay to the physician’s case. The stay proposed by the DHHS and the FDA, based on two other federal cases around the nation, would either be too long given the urgency of the case, or short enough that it would be unnecessary.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Otake, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 1:17cv493, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government
J. Thompson denies in part the police officers' motion to dismiss, ruling that the complaint makes sufficient allegations against officers Owens and Deida to support civil rights claims, and so the first cause of action will proceed against those two officers. However, because the Milford Police Department is not a legal entity with the capacity to be sued, all of the claims against it must be dismissed.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Thompson, Filed On: August 1, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1177, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government
J. McShane finds in favor of Oregon State Senator Brian Boquist for his complaint alleging that the Senate leadership retaliated against his exercise of free speech rights. After stating during a June 2019 speech on the Senate floor that, if the Senate leader is going to send the police for him, “Hell’s coming to visit you personally,” Boquist was told he would have to provide 12-hour advance notice in writing when he planned to go to the capitol building. Boquist’s comments were hyperbolic and said in “a highly charged political environment.” The statements did not constitute a true threat and the imposition of the 12-hour rule infringed on his rights.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: McShane, Filed On: July 17, 2023, Case #: 6:19cv1163, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, First Amendment
J. Otake dismisses claims against the state and Maui county and its police department alleging that an individual was wrongfully arrested and incarcerated and his son kidnapped and placed into foster care. The state and county agencies have Eleventh Amendment immunity from the claims. Claims against the Maui Police Department and its officers also fail to demonstrate any sufficient allegations of misconduct.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Otake, Filed On: July 7, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv5, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Police Misconduct
J. Doughty on July 4th grants a request by Missouri and Louisiana for a preliminary injunction against the Biden Administration, holding that the states and several individuals are likely to succeed on the merits of First Amendment claims that the Government has used its power to silence opposition on social media to Covid-19 vaccines, pandemic masking and lockdowns, the Chinese lab-leak theories about the origins of Covid-19, the validity of the 2020 presidential election, President Biden’s policies, claims that the Hunter Biden laptop story was true, and opposition to policies of government officials in power. “All were suppressed,” the ruling adds. “It is quite telling that each example or category of suppressed speech was conservative in nature.”
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: July 4, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1213, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, government
J. Rothstein denies summary judgment to the family for Phoenix Protective Services' affirmative defense of vicarious liability from the family's lawsuit, which alleges that the state's Department of Children and Families and Phoenix wrongfully put the children in the state's custody. Phoenix's affirmative defense, stating that it is not liable for damages based on its supervisory capacity or role as an employer, stands because there are still material disputes of fact over whether an entity rendering services qualifies as an employee or an independent contractor, and thereafter if those actions are within the scope of employment.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Rothstein, Filed On: July 3, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv1263, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government
J. Gillmor dismisses negligence and emotion distress claims filed against Honolulu by an individual who was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for sexual assault. The claims are time-barred, as the conviction occurred nearly two decades ago and the individual had been released from prison for eight years by time of the suit. The wrongfully convicted individual was also unable to specify who exactly from the city acted against him and in what manner.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Gillmor, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv461, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government, Negligence
J. Chang grants the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office its motion to dismiss constitutionality claims brought by the former treasurer of Cook County’s Sauk Village. The office ousted the treasurer from his position after learning he had two drug felony convictions from 1988 and 1998, and later filed suit to bar him from his subsequent attempts to hold office in the village. The former treasurer then filed suit against the state’s attorney’s office, arguing the state statutes which bar those with felony convictions from holding public office violate the Eighth Amendment. The court finds these claims without merit, and that the former treasurer has also failed to show how his claims should trump the office’s sovereign immunity.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Chang, Filed On: June 21, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv5314, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, government
J. Rodriguez conditionally grants a writ of mandamus to Enterprise Rent-A-Car after it was sued by a consumer who had been arrested at a Border Patrol checkpoint and who alleged that the company’s “negligence in renting him a car that contained illegal narcotics was the cause of his arrest.” Enterprise argued a lower court had committed a “clear abuse of discretion” by not allowing it to designate Border Patrol as a third party in this case. Border Patrol’s general immunity alone is not a good enough reason to not designate it as such, and the consumer’s arguments that a filing by Enterprise was technically late did not account for court rules concerning legal holidays.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 08-23-00081-CV, Categories: civil Rights, government, Consumer Law
J. Guaderrama mostly declines to dismiss a massive civil rights lawsuit brought against Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other state officials and entities over new the latest round of Texas legislative redistricting, which civil rights groups allege violate the Voting Rights Act and the constitution. Nonetheless, there are some deficiencies involving aspects of the civil rights groups’ case — among them, Gingles claims involving state house district 31, a majority Latino district in South Texas where the longtime Latino state representative, Ryan Guillen, recently switched to the Republican Party. The civil rights groups must allege that either “Guillen will win the general election but that he is not the Latino candidate of choice” or that “if Guillen is the Latino candidate of choice, he will lose the general election due to Anglo bloc voting,” neither of which they have successfully shown.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Guadderama, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv259, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Elections, government
J. Smith finds a lower court properly dismissed a former Missouri council member's civil rights claims against the State. The former council member argued that the lower court erred in abstaining the issue until the results of her impeachment proceedings ended. However, she failed to pursue judicial review in State court. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: June 14, 2023, Case #: 22-2388, Categories: civil Rights, government
J. Berger grants the Dunbar police officer’s motion for summary judgment in a couple’s suit claim civil rights violations when the officer acted on a tip from his lieutenant to check on suspicious activity at the couple’s home, and after finding probable cause to search the home for marijuana, served them with a warrant that contained erroneous information. The court finds the officer’s “failure to deliver the correct warrant or a warrant free of errors does not rise to a violation of the [couple’s] Fourth Amendment rights.”
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Berger, Filed On: June 12, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv230, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, government