Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a Section 1983 lawsuit alleging that a protective order and subsequent criminal convictions were obtained through fraud. The court held that the plaintiff's claims were barred by Heck v. Humphrey because a favorable ruling would necessarily imply the invalidity of his standing criminal convictions.
The Seventh Circuit dismissed David McNamara's appeal because he failed to file a brief containing legal arguments challenging the district court's decision. The underlying civil rights suit was properly dismissed by the lower court based on immunity doctrines, the statute of limitations, and federal abstention principles.
The Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a pro se plaintiff's federal civil rights claims arising from a state custody dispute, ruling that state officials and judges are protected by immunity doctrines. The court held that the plaintiff failed to plead an ongoing violation of federal law necessary to bypass sovereign immunity and did not allege that judicial actors acted outside their jurisdiction.
The Third Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a prison psychologist but reversed the lower court's ruling against two medical defendants in an Eighth Amendment suicide prevention case. The court held that while the psychologist's actions were reasonable, the medical defendants' failure to personally evaluate a suicidal inmate created a genuine dispute of material fact regarding deliberate indifference.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has issued an opinion in this employment-related civil rights case. Judgment has been entered in accordance with the court's decision.
The Supreme Court held that a pretrial order denying Yearsley protection is not immediately appealable because the doctrine provides a merits defense rather than an immunity from suit. Consequently, the denial fails the third prong of the collateral-order doctrine, as the issue remains effectively reviewable after a final judgment.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for prison medical providers, ruling that conservative treatment of reducible hernias did not constitute deliberate indifference under the Eighth Amendment. The court held that the Constitution guarantees adequate medical care, not the specific surgical treatment a prisoner desires.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Keyona Campbell's Title VII claim against Edward-Elmhurst Health because she lacked Article III standing. The court held that Campbell failed to allege a concrete injury in fact since she voluntarily withdrew from the onboarding process before any alleged harm could materialize.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Stepan Sereda's employment discrimination lawsuit, ruling that he failed to exhaust administrative remedies and that several of his statutory claims lack a private right of action. The court held that Sereda's Title VII charge was untimely and that his OSHA and Whistleblower Protection Act claims could not be privately enforced or were procedurally barred.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a police officer who conducted a warrantless search of an apartment following a stabbing. The court held that the officer was entitled to qualified immunity because it was not clearly established law that such a search violated the Fourth Amendment under the emergency aid exception.
