Aisha Johnson

Correspondent

Aisha Johnson

Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.

Civil Rights & Constitutional

Decisions covered by Aisha Johnson

1,783 decisions
Feb 24 2024
9th Cir. 1:24-cv-00066- Published

THOMAS EUGENE CREECH v. IDAHO COMMISSION OF PARDONS AND PAROLE and JAN M BENNETTS, Ada County Prosecuting Attorney

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction, rejecting a death row inmate's due process claims regarding Idaho's commutation proceedings. The court held that the state's procedures satisfied constitutional minimums and that any alleged prosecutorial errors were harmless given the overwhelming evidence supporting the denial of clemency.

Civil Rights - Section 1983 Constitutional Habeas Corpus - General (28 USC 2241)
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Feb 24 2024
9th Cir. 1:20-cv-00114- Per Curiam

THOMAS E. CREECH v. JOSH TEWALT, Director, Idaho Department of Correction; TIM RICHARDSON, Warden, Idaho Maximum Security Institution; CHAD PAGE, Chief, Division of Prisons, Ida...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of preliminary injunctive relief to death row inmate Thomas Creech regarding his scheduled lethal injection. The court held that Creech failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on his Due Process and Eighth Amendment claims because his arguments about drug provenance were speculative and he offered no viable alternative execution method.

Civil Civil Rights - PLRA / Prisoner Civil Rights - Section 1983
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Feb 20 2024
9th Cir. 23-137 Published

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD v. VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEM, LLC DBA DESERT SPRINGS HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER; VALLEY HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER, INC. DBA VALLEY HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER

The Ninth Circuit enforced the National Labor Relations Board's order finding that hospitals committed an unfair labor practice by unilaterally stopping union dues checkoff after their collective bargaining agreements expired. The court ruled that the Taft-Hartley Act does not require specific revocability language to be written into employee authorization forms for the deduction to remain valid.

Civil Labor
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Feb 14 2024
2nd Cir. 22-3094-cv Panel Decision

Saint-Jean v. Emigrant Mortgage Co., Inc.

The Second Circuit affirmed a jury verdict in a reverse redlining case where Black and Latino homeowners successfully sued a lender for violating antidiscrimination laws by targeting them with predatory mortgage refinancing loans. The court held that equitable tolling applied to the statute of limitations and that a release-of-claims provision in a loan modification agreement was unenforceable as a matter of law.

Civil Civil Rights - Employment
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Dec 14 2023
2nd Cir. 22-1076-cv Panel Decision

CompassCare v. Hochul

The Second Circuit vacated the dismissal of three religious organizations' expressive-association claims against New York's reproductive health anti-discrimination law, recognizing that employers may assert associational rights when forced to retain employees who contradict their mission. The Court affirmed the dismissal of free speech and free exercise claims while remanding the case to determine if the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that the law burdens their specific organizational missions.

Civil Civil Rights - Employment
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Nov 17 2023
9th Cir. 21-352 Published

JOSE MARIA ZUNIGA DE LA CRUZ v. MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a petition for review, holding that Miranda warnings and the exclusionary rule do not apply in civil immigration removal proceedings. The court rejected the petitioner's argument that an administrative arrest warrant transformed the civil nature of the proceeding into a criminal one.

Civil Fifth Amendment - Self-Incrimination Fourth Amendment - Search & Seizure Immigration (Civil)
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Oct 27 2023
2nd Cir. 22-2178-cv Panel Decision

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, BY LETITIA JAMES, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK v. NIAGARA-WHEATFIELD CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Second Circuit reversed a district court dismissal, clarifying that a state suing in parens patriae need not prove a discriminatory policy or practice to establish standing. The court held that New York sufficiently alleged that a school district's failure to address repeated sexual assaults and harassment affected a substantial segment of the student population.

Civil Civil Rights - Education
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Sep 13 2024
2nd Cir. 22-1197-cr Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MANUEL ANTONIO SUQUILANDA

The Second Circuit affirmed a conviction for unlawful reentry, ruling that defects in a Notice to Appear did not strip the Immigration Court of jurisdiction. The court also rejected an equal protection challenge, finding insufficient evidence that the illegal reentry statute was enacted with discriminatory intent.

Criminal Fourteenth Amendment - Equal Protection Immigration (Criminal)
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Sep 5 2023
9th Cir. 23-48 Published

CHUN MEI TONG v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The Ninth Circuit held that dismissing a prisoner's first habeas motion because the claims were legally non-cognizable constitutes an adjudication on the merits, barring any later-filed motion on those same grounds as successive. However, the court transferred a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel regarding the first motion to the district court, as that specific claim could not have been raised previously.

Constitutional Habeas Corpus - Federal Prisoner (28 USC 2255) Habeas Corpus - State Prisoner (28 USC 2254)
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Aug 11 2023
2nd Cir. 20-1666 Panel Decision

ABDERRAHMANE FARHANE v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The Second Circuit affirmed the denial of Abderrahmane Farhane's habeas petition, holding that his counsel was not ineffective for failing to warn him about denaturalization risks. The court ruled that civil denaturalization is a collateral consequence of a guilty plea, meaning the Sixth Amendment does not require defense attorneys to advise on such immigration consequences.

Constitutional Habeas Corpus - Federal Prisoner (28 USC 2255) Sixth Amendment - Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Supervised Release
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