94 results for 'cat:"Civil Rights" AND cat:"First Amendment"'.
J. Rodriguez denies an organization’s motion for an injunction and temporary restraining order after it sued the city of Kerrville, arguing local ordinances on “peddlers and solicitors” and “electioneering” violate the First Amendment. Despite expressing “generalized” concerns about the ordinances, the suing parties have not shown specific plans to engage in proscribed conduct and therefore lack standing for a restraining order.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv403, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Government, first Amendment
J. King finds in favor of the city against the protester's complaint that several of the city's unnamed officers used unreasonable force against her during a Seattle protest against George Floyd's murder on the night of June 7, 2020. The protester's First Amendment claim fails because he was not protesting or filming for journalistic purposes, he violated dispersal orders, and he does not produce any evidence that the police retaliated against him or the crowed for protected activities.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: King, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv1343, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, first Amendment, Police Misconduct
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J. Thacker finds that the lower court improperly denied the private school's motion to dismiss a student's civil rights suit. A student who suffered from sexual harassment and bullying sought to sue her private Christian school for violating Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. A tax exemption is not the same as receiving federal financial assistance, making the school not subject to Title IX. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Thacker, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 23-1453, Categories: civil Rights, Education, first Amendment
J. Kleeh dismisses a former Westover City Council member’s allegations of First Fourth Amendment Retaliation, violation of his 14th Amendment rights, as well as the slander and emotional distress claims he brought against the mayor, city police and other officials who allegedly conspired against him for blowing the whistle on corruption and police misconduct. His claim under the West Virginia Whistle-Blower Law survives the motion, however.
Court: USDC Northern District of West Virginia, Judge: Kleeh, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv98, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Municipal Law, first Amendment
J. Pepper partially grants motions to dismiss from the village, fire department, police and fire commission, commission members and fire and police officials in the firefighter's lawsuit claiming his First Amendment rights were violated when he was fired for filing complaints against the village police department. The motion to dismiss citing lack of subject matter jurisdiction is denied, but the motion claiming failure to state a claim is granted with regard to the First Amendment retaliation claims against the village, fire department, commission, five commissioners and two fire department officials. The firefighter's abuse of process claim and punitive damages claims are dismissed entirely, and his First Amendment retaliation claim against the village manager and his claim against the fire department under Wisconsin's government employer retaliation statute will proceed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Pepper, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv765, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, first Amendment
Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court properly dismissed claims by six public university professors alleging that state law establishing their representative union violates their free speech and association rights. Precedent foreclosed their claims since the so-called Taylor Law, which permits the unionization of public employees, only recognizes the Professional Staff Congress as their bargaining agent, even if they quit the unit over disagreement with its stand on social issues. Furthermore, a section of Taylor Law that limits union representation of non-union employees also did not violate First Amendment rights. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 18, 2024, Case #: 23-384, Categories: civil Rights, first Amendment, Labor / Unions
J. Simon denies in part the city councilor's motion for summary judgment in his lawsuit alleging that his civil rights were violated when the Columbia 911 Communications District banned him from attending meetings in person after he criticized some of the decisions made by the district's board of directors. There is a factual dispute as to whether the councilor's presence at the meetings was causing harm, and the parties dispute the reason for his ban, so the councilor's First Amendment claim should head to trial. However, the councilor is correct that the board violated the Oregon Revised Statutes when it held public meetings in a virtual-only format on four occasions.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Simon, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv293, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Municipal Law, first Amendment
J. Mannion grants summary judgment to a township and two of its town supervisors, who were sued by the police chief and two officers over a dispute considering traffic enforcement. The police said one supervisor, who rebuked them for not ticketing more tractor-trailers on the highway, overstepped his authority and attempted to order them around in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights to the irate supervisor. The police failed to show actionable retaliatory conduct, as the town board member’s comments amounted to immature criticism and mere rudeness, and he had no authority to compel the officers to act.
Court: USDC Middle District of Pennsylvania, Judge: Mannion, Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: 3:19-2115, NOS: Civil Rights - Habeas Corpus, Categories: civil Rights, Employment Retaliation, first Amendment
J. Rudofsky rules against a school parent on first amendment retaliation claims after a school district restricted her visits to a school when audio was leaked from a Moms for Liberty group meeting, where she stated “If I was…any mental issues, they would all be plowed down with a freaking gun by now.” The parent has waived the merits of her case by not responding to the arguments for summary judgment on the claims.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Arkansas , Judge: Rudofsky, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv677, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Education, first Amendment
J. Hartz finds that the lower court improperly dismissed civil rights claims against Oklahoma State University from a free speech advocacy group that sought to challenge new schoolwide policies that they claimed chilled free speech. The lower court tossed their suit on the grounds that the three student members they were representing decided to proceed in the case as anonymous persons, stating that the group lacked standing as a result. But the Supreme Court opinion they relied on to make those findings did not make anonymity an issue and there was "no hint, much less an emphatic statement," that the opinion in question was setting a precedent that anonymous persons could not have standing to bring claims such as this. Reversed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Hartz, Filed On: February 9, 2024, Case #: 23-6054, Categories: civil Rights, Education, first Amendment
J. McShane declines to dismiss the federal claims in the residential patients' complaint accusing the hospital of revising its rules about handling patient mail and personal property, which prevented the patients from sending or receiving previously allowed packages, including three-dimensional artwork and Native American religious sacraments. The patients plausibly allege that the hospital's employees acted as state officials who implemented a policy that deprived the patients of their rights to free speech and religious freedom.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: McShane, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 6:22cv1982, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Property, first Amendment
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. Schiltz partially grants the law enforcement officers' motion for summary judgment in the Los Angeles Times journalists' suit alleging that they were unconstitutionally targeted by police while covering civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Claims stemming from an incident in which a tear gas canister struck one of the journalists' legs are dismissed, since the journalists have not produced evidence that any of the named defendants were responsible for the canister. A failure-to-intervene claim is voluntarily dismissed as to one of the officers, but survives as to the others. Supervisory-liability claims are also dismissed, but all other claims survive.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Schiltz, Filed On: January 29, 2024, Case #: 0:21cv1282, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, first Amendment, Police Misconduct
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. Pryor vacates the previous panel opinion and substitutes the instant opinion finding that the district court improperly denied ex-state attorney Andrew Warren's motion for injunctive relief in a civil rights action against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis arising after the governor suspended Warren from office and appointed a political ally to replace him. The suspension occurred after Warren signed transgender healthcare and abortion advocacy statements. The district court incorrectly found that the First Amendment did not protect Warren's signing of the statements. Warren's agreement with a sentence in the abortion statement saying that signatories committed to exercising discretion and refraining from prosecuting people who seek or provide abortions qualified as protected speech. The district court also incorrectly found that the First Amendment did not bar the governor from suspending Warren to gain a political benefit. The case is remanded for the district court to consider whether the governor would have made the same decision based solely on Warren's performance and policies. Vacated.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: January 11, 2024, Case #: 23-10459, Categories: civil Rights, first Amendment
J. Marbley denies, in part, the city's motion for summary judgment, ruling the detainee's Fourth Amendment excessive force claim must be submitted to a jury. There are issues of fact regarding whether the officers' decision to drag the detainee into the street was reasonable given the innocuous nature of her alleged offense - spitting in the direction of one of the officers.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Marbley, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv1831, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Evidence, first Amendment
J. Pryor finds that the district court improperly denied ex-state attorney Andrew Warren's motion for injunctive relief in a civil rights action against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis arising after the governor suspended Warren from office and appointed a political ally to replace him. The suspension occurred after Warren signed transgender healthcare and abortion advocacy statements. The district court incorrectly found that the First Amendment did not protect Warren's signing of the statements. Warren's agreement with a sentence in the abortion statement saying that signatories committed to exercising discretion and refraining from prosecuting people who seek or provide abortions qualified as protected speech. The district court also incorrectly found that the First Amendment did not bar the governor from suspending Warren to gain a political benefit. The case is remanded for the district court to consider whether the governor would have made the same decision based solely on Warren's performance and policies. Vacated.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 23-10459, Categories: civil Rights, first Amendment
J. Jordan finds that the district court properly ruled in favor of the synagogue in a civil rights action alleging that the transit authority's rejection of a proposed Chanukah on Ice event advertisement violated the First Amendment. The district court correctly found that even if the transit authority's policy prohibiting ads that primarily promote a religious faith or religious organization is viewpoint neutral, the policy is unreasonable due to its lack of objective, workable standards for interpreting terms like "primarily promote" and "religious." The case is remanded to the district court for the purposes of limiting the scope of the permanent injunction to only the transit authority's current policy rather than to future policies. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Jordan, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 22-11787, Categories: civil Rights, first Amendment
J. Grant finds that the district court improperly ruled in favor of the city with respect to an activist's First Amendment claim in a civil rights action arising after he was banned from city council meetings and arrested for disorderly conduct. The city violated the activist's rights when it indefinitely barred him from city hall, preventing him from attending city council meetings which are a designated public forum. However, the district court correctly found that the officer who enforced the city's ban was entitled to qualified immunity. The officers were not entitled to qualified immunity from the activist's false arrest claims because the activist's actions in yelling, cursing and grabbing his crotch did not amount to probable cause for a disorderly conduct arrest. The city had probable cause to arrest the activist for cyberstalking based on his online posts to a law enforcement blog. Reversed in part.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Grant, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 22-11421, Categories: civil Rights, Immunity, first Amendment
J. Pechman grants Attorney General Robert Ferguson's motion to dismiss the nonprofit organization's complaint alleging that Ferguson, Assistant Attorney General Joshua Studor and the Attorney General's office targeted conservative activist Alan Gottlieb, four nonprofit organizations and two for-profit entities for their gun rights advocacy efforts, attempting to silence them with sham civil investigations. Except for the Public Records Act claim, the nonprofit organization does not show that it or the others suffered injury from the civil investigative demands or the AG's office, especially not that they suffered chilled speech.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Pechman, Filed On: January 9, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv1554, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, first Amendment
J. Joseph denies the school district and superintendent's motion to dismiss a lawsuit from a teacher claiming she was fired for objecting in her personal capacity to elementary school students being prohibited from singing "Rainbowland" by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton at a school concert because of a school board policy banning "controversial issues" in the classroom. The teacher has sufficiently alleged her First Amendment retaliation claims against both the district and the superintendent to survive the motion to dismiss, and the superintendent is not entitled to qualified immunity at this time.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Joseph, Filed On: December 20, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv1169, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, first Amendment