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

1,080 decisions
Apr 27 2026
4th Cir. 25-2035 Per Curiam

RACHEL A. ROYER v. SYNEOS HEALTH, LLC

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a Title VII religious accommodation claim because the plaintiff failed to prove extraordinary circumstances excused her failure to meet the 90-day administrative exhaustion deadline. The court also upheld the dismissal of state law fraud and punitive damages claims due to insufficient pleading particularity and the absence of a freestanding cause of action under North Carolina law.

Civil Civil Rights - Employment
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Apr 27 2026
4th Cir. 25-1873 Per Curiam

BRIAN R. DELLA ROCCA v. SUSAN C. LEE

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a voting rights complaint, ruling that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate the concrete and particularized injury required for Article III standing. The court held that the alleged harms were conjectural rather than actual or imminent, rendering the claims non-justiciable.

Civil Civil Rights - Voting Standing
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Apr 27 2026
4th Cir. 25-1431 Panel Decision

TOM HUTTO v. CITY OF ROCK HILL

The Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the City of Rock Hill, ruling that a short-term rental host lacks standing to assert the constitutional rights of his transient guests. The court further held that the city's zoning regulations limiting short-term rentals are a valid exercise of traditional police power subject only to rational basis review.

Civil Civil Rights - Section 1983 Fourteenth Amendment - Equal Protection Standing
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Apr 27 2026
9th Cir. 24-7200 Unpublished

AGAPITO MORALES, ET AL. V. BLANCHE

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of asylum and Convention Against Torture claims because the petitioners failed to submit required biometrics despite sixteen months of notice. The court held that the Immigration Judge did not abuse his discretion in deeming the applications abandoned and rejected due process arguments regarding legal assistance.

Civil Immigration (Civil) Sixth Amendment - Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
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Apr 27 2026
9th Cir. 2:24-cv-00655- 2-1

FORWARD, INC. V. MACOMBER, ET AL.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a citizen suit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, ruling that state agency heads lacked the required 'fairly direct' connection to alleged hazardous waste violations to overcome Eleventh Amendment immunity. The court held that general supervisory roles over agencies causing pollution are insufficient to subject officials to suit under the Ex parte Young exception.

Civil Civil Rights - Voting Summary Judgment
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Apr 27 2026
9th Cir. 3:25-cv-02170-SI Published

DICKINSON, ET AL. V. TRUMP, ET AL.

The Ninth Circuit stayed a district court's preliminary injunction that restricted federal agents' use of non-lethal crowd-control munitions at the Portland ICE facility. The appellate court found the government likely to succeed on its First Amendment retaliation claim and ruled the lower court's order was overly broad and exceeded judicial authority.

Civil Civil Rights - Employment
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Apr 27 2026
10th Cir. 1:23-CV-01241-CNS-SBP Panel Decision

Martinez v. City of Aurora, Colorado, et al.

The Tenth Circuit reversed the district court's denial of the City of Aurora's motion to dismiss, holding that an officer on administrative leave lacked the actual authority required to act under color of law. The court clarified that under the Supreme Court's decision in Lindke v. Freed, apparent authority or subjective belief is insufficient to establish state action for a Section 1983 claim.

Civil Civil Rights - Section 1983
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Apr 24 2026
10th Cir. 1:24-CV-03371-LTB-RTG) Panel Decision

Welch v. Attorney General of the State of Colorado

The Tenth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability because the petitioner failed to allege specific, credible constitutional violations in his habeas petition. The court dismissed the appeal, finding the petitioner's claims were delusional and factually frivolous under the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases.

Civil Rights - Section 1983 Constitutional Eighth Amendment - Cruel & Unusual Habeas Corpus - General (28 USC 2241)
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Apr 24 2026
6th Cir. 24-5421 13-6

Clippinger v. State Farm Auto. Ins. Co.

The Sixth Circuit reversed the district court's certification of a class action against State Farm, holding that individualized issues regarding the unique value of each insured vehicle predominate over common questions. The court reasoned that because determining actual cash value requires case-by-case analysis, a class-wide resolution is unmanageable under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3).

Civil Civil Rights - Employment
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Apr 24 2026
5th Cir. 25-11346 Per Curiam

Stanford v. King of Freight, L.L.C.

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Jason Stanford's lawsuit because he filed the action without obtaining prior leave of court as required by a valid vexatious litigant order. The court held that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) permits sua sponte dismissal for such non-compliance and that Stanford could not relitigate the validity of the underlying order.

Civil Civil Rights - PLRA / Prisoner
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