34 results for 'cat:"Constitution" AND cat:"Jurisdiction"'.
J. Schroeder grants the secretary of state’s motion to dismiss a passport seeker’s allegations that the Department of State unreasonably delayed his application in violation of the Fifth Amendment. The seeker, originally from Puerto Rico, tried and failed to renew his passport multiple times. Since the secretary already requested additional proof of identification from the seeker, which the seeker has not provided nor contested, the district court cannot provide a remedy and lacks subject matter jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Schroeder, Filed On: May 17, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv586, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: constitution, jurisdiction
J. Ho dismisses the strip club's appeal for lack of jurisdiction. District courts have upheld the state bill raising the minimum age of employment at sexually oriented businesses from 18 to 21 years old against constitutional attack in multiple cases. The club does not argue the law burdens the constitutional rights of the business. It does not allege the age of the dancers plays a role in any message that it intends to convey, that it possesses a constitutional right to hire certain employees or that the law deprives it of equal protection. The club has not alleged an injury in fact.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Ho , Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 22-50612, Categories: constitution, jurisdiction
J. Flanagan grants a community college’s motion to dismiss allegations of fraud and Fifth Amendment violations brought by a barber academy. The academy’s owner claims the college pressured him to give up his barbering license after it was suspended because the college could not get a barber school license without owning a barber school, and the owner did own one. Then, someone from the college allegedly sent the college’s board a fraudulent application, falsely claiming that the college owned the barber school on the owner’s property. However, the claims against individuals these for actions, all apparently committed before 2014, are time-barred. Claims against the college and board are dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv80, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, Fraud, jurisdiction
J. Sullivan finds the lower court properly elevated defendant's DUI case to a felony based on his previous convictions. While defendant was denied counsel during two previous DUI trials that resulted in convictions, the error did not deprive those trial courts of jurisdiction and, therefore, defendant's collateral attacks on the previous convictions were untimely. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sullivan, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 2024COA38, Categories: constitution, Dui, jurisdiction
J. Moore finds the lower court erroneously denied the voters' request to convene a three-judge court. Their Fourteenth Amendment claim regarding racial gerrymandering in Ohio raised a federal question that established jurisdiction; therefore, the case will be reinstated to allow the lower court to initiate proceedings to convene a three-judge panel. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Moore, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 23-3910, Categories: constitution, Elections, jurisdiction
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J. Robertson grants the water district defendants' dismissal motion in this lawsuit brought by a real estate developer and a construction company asserting constitutional violations, as well as violations of the state's Rural Water, Sewer, Gas and Solid Waste Management Districts Act and its Public Competitive Bidding Act. The district has provided a rational basis for its policies "restricting developers from bidding on the water line installation," and the policy is not precluded. Accordingly, the developer's equal protection claim fails, and the court declines to exercise jurisdiction over the remaining state claims.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Oklahoma, Judge: Robertson, Filed On: March 25, 2024, Case #: 6:23cv72, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, Real Estate, jurisdiction
J. Jackson dismisses a group of D.C. residents' challenge to a law that allows noncitizen residents to vote in local elections. They fail to show an injury-in-fact and, therefore, lack standing.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1261, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: constitution, Elections, jurisdiction
J. Settle blocks the state of Washington from enforcing most sections of a law aimed at regulating private for-profit immigration detention facilities. HB 1470, which required a slew of rules and regulations for private detention facilities, violates the supremacy clause because it imposed a burden on the Northwest Detention Center that did not apply to any other facility in the state. Only Section 4 of the law, which does not apply to any contract signed before Jan. 1, 2023, remains in place while the rest is blocked by a preliminary injunction.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Settle, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv5626, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: constitution, jurisdiction, Injunction
J. Mosman grants the government's motion to dismiss the Lawyers for Fair Reciprocal Admission's First Amendment claims against the government concerning bar admission restrictions. The government sufficiently showed in court that the bar admission rules do not prohibit attorneys from their right of free association, and that the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Arizona, Judge: Mosman, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv1221, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, jurisdiction
[Consolidated.] J. Silva finds that the lower court improperly granted the appellees' pleas to the jurisdiction in these declaratory judgment cases alleging that certain statutes violate the Texas Constitution's Open Beaches Amendment. The court concludes that the appellants had standing to bring suit and "that immunity was waived for each appellee." Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Silva, Filed On: February 1, 2024, Case #: 13-22-00358-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, constitution, jurisdiction
J. Zahn holds that state administrative agencies properly invoked the Supreme Court's jurisdiction to determine whether provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act that require legislative approval of pending administrative fee rules are constitutional. The State Athletic Commission and the Division of Occupational and Processional Licenses have standing to allege that the refusal by the state Administrative Rules Coordinator to publish their pending rules prevented them from fulfilling their statutory duties. However, the Commission and the Division are not entitled to mandamus relief because the Act requirement for legislative approval does not violate the Idaho Constitution's separation of powers provision. The authority of the executive branch to engage administrative rulemaking is not a constitutional power, as it was granted by the legislature.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Zahn, Filed On: January 29, 2024, Case #: 51211, Categories: Administrative Law, constitution, jurisdiction
J. Deters finds that defendant's failure to prove he was unavoidably prevented from discovering his victim's recantation of identification evidence at trial deprived the lower court of jurisdiction to hear his successive petition for postconviction relief and, therefore, his petition was properly denied. Although the affidavit from the victim in which he admitted he was unsure of the identity of his attacker was dated beyond the deadline for defendant to file his successive postconviction relief petition, this date does not establish when the recantation evidence became available and does not satisfy the unavoidably prevented standard, which prevented defendant from establishing a constitutional violation. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Deters, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-134, Categories: Criminal Procedure, constitution, jurisdiction
J. Corker partially grants the defendant law enforcement officer's motion for summary judgment and dismisses the couple's federal claims under Section 1983 against him. The couple alleges that the officer, an employee of the University of Tennessee Police Department, mistakenly approached their home with a gun and "demanded to know why they were in 'his' home," in violation of their constitutional rights. However, they fail to show that the officer, whose actual house was allegedly "right next door," was acting under color of state law at the time of the incident. The court also declines to exercise jurisdiction over their state law claims.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Tennessee , Judge: Corker, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv188, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, constitution, jurisdiction
J. Boone refuses to dismiss a church’s claims against the U.S. Attorney General and others arising from a raid, arrest and seizures of its holy ayahuasca tea, which contains trace amounts of DMT, citing financial and spiritual losses. The district court has jurisdiction, the church has standing and it has sufficiently pleaded a prima facie case under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Court: USDC Eastern District of California, Judge: Boone, Filed On: January 9, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv545, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, Government, jurisdiction
J. Dever denies an investment firm’s motion to remand this suit to a lower court in its attempt to prevent Wells Fargo and a trustee corporation from foreclosing a second time on a property the firm had purchased. The firm was unaware of a lien from 2006 owned by Wells Fargo when it bought the property and requested purchase of a note that would resolve the lien. Wells Fargo responded by initiating a second foreclosure sale, to which the firm responded by suing the bank. Wells Fargo correctly argues that the suit cannot be remanded because the trustee corporation is located in Florida and, therefore, diversity jurisdiction exists.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: January 5, 2024, Case #: 7:23cv1232, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: constitution, Property, jurisdiction
J. Silva grants the condominium's motion to dismiss this landlord-tenant action. The tenant, who alleges issues with housing conditions, improperly evokes the Fair Housing Act and fails to demonstrate federal jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Silva , Filed On: January 5, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv1690, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: constitution, Landlord Tenant, jurisdiction
J. Bloomekatz finds the lower court properly dismissed the Republican Party member's lawsuit regarding the constitutionality of a "gender quota" for its central leadership committee. The state laws challenged by the member are also included in the party's bylaws, which means a court order to strike down the state laws would not redress his injury and, therefore, he lacked standing to bring his lawsuit. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Bloomekatz, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 23-3178, Categories: constitution, Government, jurisdiction
J. Pappert dismisses a father’s complaint that the Philadelphia School District violated his constitutional rights by failing to share with him a suspected child abuse report prepared by a school counselor about his son. The father, acting pro se, failed to state a claim for relief.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Judge: Pappert, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv1344, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, Education, jurisdiction
J. Dick denies a request by the Louisiana Secretary of State to turn over jurisdiction of a voting rights redistricting case to a three-judge court, on the argument that federal law requires a tribunal for a constitutional or statutory challenge to the apportionment of a state legislative body. The law does not support the secretary’s argument and there is no decision in the Fifth Circuit that supports his “strained interpretation” of the law. The decision comes one day after a mixed ruling on proposed experts for both sides in a lawsuit challenging redistricting plans that allegedly dilute black voters’ voting strength in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv178, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, constitution, jurisdiction
J. Dick denies a request by 53 death row prisoners for a preliminary injunction ordering the state pardon board to hold clemency hearings under outgoing, term-limited Governor John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, dismissing their argument that they “face a real possibility of death if this preliminary injunction is not granted." The prisoners fail to demonstrate harm is imminent as a result of the cancellation of scheduled clemency hearings, and there is no evidence they will face execution before they are able to apply for clemency.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 3:23CV1494, NOS: Civil Rights - Habeas Corpus, Categories: constitution, Due Process, jurisdiction
J. Reiber finds the Public Utility Commission, on the second remand, properly denied a company’s request to build a solar facility on a hillside. The commission conducted an analysis if the project would be sufficient to mitigate the impact of the societal benefits and it was supported by the record consistent with the statue. The company claimed a challenge of the constitutionality of the statue, but as already explained the commission lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the challenge. “Accordingly, petitioner’s constitutional challenges would fail even if they had been properly preserved for our review.” Affirmed.
Court: Vermont Supreme Court, Judge: Reiber, Filed On: October 27, 2023, Case #: 22-AP-286, Categories: constitution, Energy, jurisdiction
J. Africk grants the nonprofit organization's motion to remand its case accusing New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell of improperly reallocating $32 million from its capital budget to be used for the construction of an addition to the Orleans Justice Center that is required to bring the jail into compliance with a consent decree in another lawsuit. Although the nonprofit's petition may raise a federal question, that question need not be analyzed because the nonprofit lacks Article III standing, depriving the court of subject matter jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Africk, Filed On: October 24, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv5067, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, Municipal Law, jurisdiction
J. Morgan grants a request by Louisiana’s attorney general to dismiss a lawsuit by a group of website operators challenging a state civil law aimed at porn sites. The suit alleges Louisiana requires websites to “age-verify” Internet users 18 and over before providing access to content that meets the State’s allegedly “murky” definition of “material harmful to minors.” The law’s definition of harmful “material” includes “sexual intercourse masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation, excretory functions, exhibitions, or any other sexual act.” The suing group of website operators and content providers fail to meet their burden of establishing that an exception to the state’s sovereign immunity applies to their claims.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Morgan, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv2123, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, Immunity, jurisdiction
J. Pechman grants the counties' emergency motion to remand their complaint, which alleges that the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services violated state law by refusing to admit individuals for court-ordered civil commitment evaluations, to the Pierce County Superior Court. DSHS argues that the counties' case should remain in federal court because it will touch on the constitutional rights argued in the ongoing case "A.B. by & through Trueblood v. Washington State Dep’t of Soc. & Health," but DSHS does not show how the civil conversion patients in this case have the same or superior constitutional rights as the Trueblood class members.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Pechman, Filed On: September 26, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv5775, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, jurisdiction, Venue
J. Gabriel vacates the lower court's ruling on the merits of property tax legislation and its constitutionality. The legislation will not take effect until and unless it is approved by Colorado voters in the 2023 election cycle; therefore, this and all other courts lack jurisdiction to consider whether the legislation complies with the state's single subject requirement.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Gabriel, Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: 2023CO45, Categories: constitution, Elections, jurisdiction
J. Olguin dismisses the property owner’s claim that the California Coastal Commission wrongfully denied his coastal development permit (CDP) application without an access in-lieu fee, which the owner claims is unconstitutional because there is not a reasonable connection between public beach access needs and the impact of the owner’s pool project. The owner waived the right to make a constitutional claim when he did not raise the issue before the commission. Also, the commission is carrying out the state court's mandate on remand when it grants the CDP subject to the in-lieu fee, so only the state courts have the power to review if the commission is complying with the state court's remand order.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Olguin, Filed On: August 13, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv4668, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, Property, jurisdiction