16 results for 'cat:"First Amendment" AND cat:"Police Misconduct"'.
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
J. Kobayashi partially dismisses claims of free speech violations, malicious prosecution and negligent supervision against the county and its police officers brought by a man who says officers wrongfully arrested him after he called 911 on a group of tourists. The caller could not show that his free speech was restricted by any policy of the county or the police department. Similarly, he does not show they deliberately allowed him to be arrested.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv269, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: first Amendment, police Misconduct
J. Seeger denies the Cook County Sheriff’s Office’s motion to dismiss a former correction officer’s First Amendment and retaliatory termination claims. The former CO claims the office fired him because its leadership did not appreciate his wearing a “Sons of Anarchy” TV show patch to court, along with his badge, while attending the trial of the men who fatally shot his close friend, another Cook County sheriff. The office also did not appreciate that he got into a conflict with the State’s Attorney’s Office over a potential plea deal for the men, or that he publicly accused the actual Cook County Sheriff, Tom Dart, of committing domestic abuse. The sheriff’s office claims the CO violated its rules of conduct for employees, but the former CO claims the termination was retaliatory and violated his First Amendment rights. The court finds that factual disputes, and the sheriff office’s lack of sufficient argument against the former CO’s claims, make dismissal inappropriate.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Seeger, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1406, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Retaliation, first Amendment, police Misconduct
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. Kovner enters judgment in favor of the New York Police Department and a group of detectives on claims of false arrest, malicious prosecution and First Amendment retaliation stemming from criminal charges filed against a former officer for allegedly sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl. The court finds probable cause for the former officer’s arrest was sufficiently established following credible testimony provided by the alleged victim. The litigant also fails to provide enough evidence that would lead a jury to conclude that he was fired from the force after he filed a complaint with the city’s comptroller’s office and conducted an interview with a reporter.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Koyner, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv6133, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Retaliation, first Amendment, police Misconduct
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J. Flanagan grants a police officer and a county sheriff’s office’s motion for judgment on the pleadings following allegations of First and 14th Amendments violations brought by a man whom the officer arrested. The man claims the officer did not have good cause to arrest nor imprison him as he was not carrying a firearm. However, he failed to include allegations in support of his claim that the sheriff’s office — which itself is an entity not capable of being sued — fundamentally had something to do with the officer’s alleged maltreatment of him. His claims are dismissed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 7:23cv9, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, first Amendment, police Misconduct
J. D’Agostino grants summary judgment in favor of two village police officers on a GrubHub delivery driver’s civil rights claims stemming from a traffic stop. The driver was ultimately convicted on the traffic violations, so probable cause was established for the traffic stop. The officers were also justified in using force to remove him from his car and arrest him after he failed to comply with the officers’ demands to show his hands and exit his vehicle and instead reached into the passenger side. The court also rejected the driver’s First Amendment right to freedom of religion claim, as he fails to argue the traffic stop and subsequent arrest violated his religious rights by preventing him from delivering a customer’s food order.
Court: USDC Northern District of New York, Judge: D’Agostino, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 5:22cv1088, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, first Amendment, police Misconduct
J. Duffin finds partially in favor of the police officers in a pro se lawsuit from a citizen bringing multiple constitutional claims related to the search of a residence where he was arrested after refusing to reveal himself and exit the residence while the officers were investigating a previous battery report. The citizen's First Amendment retaliation claim blaming his arrest on a prior lawsuit he filed against other police officers, Fourth Amendment unlawful entry claim over the officers' lack of a warrant and Eighth Amendment cruel and unusual punishment claim all fail and are dismissed. Summary judgment is granted to the officers on those claims but not the citizen's Fourth Amendment unlawful seizure claim, as there are factual disputes over whether the citizen was still detained while being transported to the hospital for self-reported chest pains after reasonable suspicion had ended, and the officers have not proven they are entitled to qualified immunity.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Duffin, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv911, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, first Amendment, police Misconduct
J. Urbanski grants the county's motion to dismiss. The president of Black Lives Matter Shenandoah Valley sought monetary relief after he and fellow protestors were arrested while protesting the county's sheriff's department following the killing of George Floyd. The sheriff ordered his deputies to arrest the protestors for noise ordinance violations. In Virginia, a county cannot be held liable for the policies or practices of independent constitutional officers, such as the local elected sheriff, because those officers do not depend upon the governing bodies of their counties or cities for their authority.
Court: USDC Western District of Virginia, Judge: Urbanski, Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: 5:22cv63, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: first Amendment, police Misconduct
J. Wright partially denies the sheriff's motion for summary judgment in a civil rights action brought by the journalists alleging that they were harassed, shot with less-lethal weapons and unfairly arrested during the law enforcement response to protests after the deaths of George Floyd and Daunte Wright. The sheriff's motion is granted as to the journalists' injunctive and declaratory relief claims. However, the sheriff is entitled to qualified immunity as to three journalists' civil rights claims against him in his individual capacity. The city's motion for summary judgment is denied because the journalists presented evidence of a persistent pattern of unconstitutional misconduct by the police department and deliberate indifference by the city. The evidence shows that officers "deliberately and systematically" targeted journalists who were identifiable as members of the press and were not committing crimes. There is also evidence supporting the inference of a conspiracy between the police department, state patrol and other agencies to disregard curfew exemptions and interfere with the freedom of the press.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: September 26, 2023, Case #: 0:20cv1302, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, first Amendment, police Misconduct
J. McCafferty partially grants the government officials' joint motion for judgment as to a lawsuit brought by a woman alleging that she was wrongfully arrested for trespassing as retaliation for her criticism of city acts and officials. The woman fails to show that her free speech was chilled or that the disputes with her over Right-to-Know laws are adverse actions taken against her. However, her claim that her arrest was in retaliation for her protected activity withstands the officials' motion.
Court: USDC New Hampshire, Judge: McCafferty, Filed On: September 26, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv326, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, first Amendment, police Misconduct
J. Saylor partially denies a city’s motion for summary judgment against a former police detective suing it for allegedly violating his First, Fifth and 14th Amendment constitutional rights and some state laws by terminating his employment after he complained about corruption in the city’s police department. The former detective’s complaint occurred after it was recommended that he be terminated, but the actual decision to terminate him came after he wrote a series of letters accusing the individual who discharged him of unethical behavior, and that decision was made without the normal amount of interviewing of relevant witnesses.
Court: USDC Massachusetts, Judge: Saylor, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv10867, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Retaliation, first Amendment, police Misconduct
J. Hollander grants the Baltimore Law Department, including the police department and several of its officers and other staff, its motion to dismiss allegations of First Amendment violations brought by a community justice group. The group has attempted on numerous occasions to gain access to records from the police department, particularly those reporting police misconduct. However, its claims are solely based on its assertion that it is being discriminated against based on the identities of its members, providing no evidence of this besides its own viewpoint. Also, the law department is an improper litigant.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Hollander, Filed On: August 10, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1901, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Public Record, first Amendment, police Misconduct
J. Hamilton partially grants the police officers and city officials' motion for summary judgment in the protestors' suit alleging civil rights violations and injuries at protests of the death of George Floyd. Police officers' decision to shoot less-lethal munitions into a crowd could create unlawful-seizure claims for those struck, since firing their weapons toward the protesters was a "knowing and willful act that terminated [their] freedom of movement," regardless of the officers' intent to encourage protestors to disperse. Several protestors' claims are dismissed for reasons including inability to identify or incorrect identification of the officers who injured them and the officers' reasonable beliefs that the use of force was necessary to apprehend them. Five protestors have surviving claims.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Hamilton, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 4:21cv1705, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, first Amendment, police Misconduct
J. Ebel finds that the lower court improperly granted qualified immunity to police deputies after they were sued by a man who says he was arrested and thrown to the ground for criticizing the police while they were questioning his nephew about a car accident. None of the individual’s criticisms towards the police fell outside the bounds of First Amendment protections, so there was no probable cause for arrest. The officers therefore cannot be granted immunity at this stage. Reversed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Ebel, Filed On: July 18, 2023, Case #: 22-1154, Categories: Immunity, first Amendment, police Misconduct
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court improperly denied immunity to the Maryland Capitol police officer who arrested protesters who allegedly refused to move off a sidewalk. The police chief instructed the officer to evaluate the situation and relocate the picketers if necessary. A reasonable officer in the officer's position could have believed that the orders constituted lawful time, place, or manner restrictions on the picketers’ First Amendment rights. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson, Filed On: June 14, 2023, Case #: 21-1608, Categories: first Amendment, police Misconduct