Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Fourth Circuit vacated a district court's dismissal of a civil rights complaint based on an incorrect statute of limitations. The court clarified that West Virginia's two-year personal injury limit applies to the plaintiff's Section 1983 claims.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a firefighter's First Amendment retaliation claim after he posted racially offensive content on his public Facebook page. While the court found the district court erred in concluding the posts did not address matters of public concern, it held that the City's interest in maintaining public trust and workplace efficiency outweighed the employee's speech rights.
The Ninth Circuit dismissed the State of Nevada's appeal as moot after the state secured a new plea agreement with the petitioner. The court held that reversing the district court's vacatur of the petitioner's felony conviction would provide no effective relief given the intervening misdemeanor conviction and sentence.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court dismissal of a civil rights complaint against a bail recovery company. The court held that private bail agents are not state actors and that the district court properly declined supplemental jurisdiction over state law claims.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of the Department of Veterans Affairs in a Title VII employment dispute. The court found insufficient evidence that the plaintiff's termination was motivated by race or retaliation for filing an internal discrimination complaint.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment in an employment discrimination case. The court held that the plaintiff failed to present objective evidence of disparate treatment or knowledge of protected activity required for a retaliation claim.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit dismissed an appeal challenging a denial of qualified immunity in a Fourth Amendment case. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction because the defendant's arguments relied on a factual dispute rather than a pure question of law.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court judgment in a civil employment dispute involving wage collection and severance pay claims. The appellate court found no reversible error in the lower court's handling of the case despite eleven issues raised by the appellant.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of a pro se plaintiff's civil rights claims due to service of process defects and failure to state a claim. The court also upheld the denial of the plaintiff's motions for extensions of time to appeal under Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure four and six.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court dismissal of a Section nineteen eighty-three claim against the Charleston County Sheriff's Office. The court held that the Sheriff's Office is an arm of the state entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity under binding precedent.
