Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Inverness Technologies. The court found that Barnett-Morgan failed to establish a prima facie case of racial discrimination and that her claims of retaliation were not exhausted.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of qualified immunity to two San Francisco police inspectors who allegedly coerced a witness into fabricating evidence against a man later exonerated after thirty-two years in prison. The court held that a reasonable jury could find the officers violated the plaintiff's due process rights by threatening a young witness with an adult murder charge to secure a false statement.
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed the denial of a habeas corpus petition, holding that the state court's decision did not meet the stringent standards of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a Veterans Court ruling that denied attorneys' fees to a veteran. The appellate court held that vacating an agency decision issued without jurisdiction constitutes a material alteration of the legal relationship sufficient to confer prevailing party status under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the government's motion for a stay pending appeal of a preliminary injunction blocking a new passport policy. The court found the government failed to demonstrate a strong likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal regarding the Administrative Procedure Act and the Equal Protection Clause.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an employment discrimination suit brought by a pro se plaintiff. The court held that the plaintiff waived her right to challenge the district court's findings by failing to timely object to the magistrate judge's report and recommendation.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Michael Townes's complaint against federal agencies for lack of Article III standing and because the claims were premature. The court held that Townes failed to allege a real and immediate threat of future harm and that his request for relief would necessarily imply the invalidity of his existing conviction.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a pro se complaint alleging constitutional violations by two judges. The court held that the appellant abandoned his primary arguments and that the claims were meritless due to judicial immunity and established precedent.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a medical professor's employment discrimination lawsuit against Duke University. The court held that the plaintiff failed to plausibly allege facts supporting claims of race, national origin, sex, and age discrimination or retaliation.
The Seventh Circuit vacated a dismissal of a civil rights suit alleging that a county jail violated federal anti-forced labor laws by requiring unpaid work from civil immigration detainees. The court held that the statute applies to public counties and that threatening detainees with solitary confinement to compel labor constitutes a violation.
