Topic

Civil Rights - Section 1983

Every decision we've filed under Civil Rights - Section 1983.

Related topics

Civil 2101 Criminal 1228 Summary Judgment 471 Sentencing Guidelines 419 Immigration (Civil) 358 Constitutional 353 Supervised Release 289 Drug Trafficking 275 Firearms 215 Civil Rights - Employment 205 Intellectual Property 160 Qualified Immunity 153
Apr 7 2026
10th Cir. 4:23-CV-00126-CVE-CDL; 4:23-CV-00266-GKF-CDL Panel Decision

Savage v. Dobbertin

The Tenth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for jail officers in an excessive force claim where the plaintiff failed to prove a specific officer caused a non-de minimis injury. The court also upheld the dismissal of a second lawsuit because the plaintiff failed to serve defendants within the time limits required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Civil Civil Rights - Section 1983 Qualified Immunity Summary Judgment
Read summary →
Apr 7 2026
5th Cir. 26-40101 Per Curiam

Olali v. Johnson

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a pro se plaintiff's Section 1983 challenge to a Texas discovery statute, holding that the Younger abstention doctrine bars federal intervention. The court ruled that the plaintiff had an adequate opportunity to raise his constitutional claims within the ongoing state criminal proceedings.

Civil Civil Rights - Section 1983
Read summary →
Apr 7 2026
5th Cir. 25-20511 Per Curiam

Linicomn v. Harris County Sheriff's Office

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a pro se plaintiff's Section 1983 claims, ruling that the proposed amended complaint failed to state a valid claim regardless of the district court's procedural error. The court held that the amendment was insufficient as a matter of law because it omitted the police department and failed to allege a Monell violation.

Civil Civil Rights - Section 1983 Statute of Limitations
Read summary →
Apr 6 2026
10th Cir. 2:23-CV-02209-HLT-GEB Panel Decision

HomeRoom, Inc. v. City of Shawnee, Kansas

The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a challenge to a Shawnee, Kansas zoning ordinance that limits the number of unrelated people living together. The court held that the ordinance does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment rights to intimate association or equal protection under the controlling precedent of Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas.

Civil Civil Rights - Section 1983
Read summary →
Apr 6 2026
10th Cir. 1:23-CV-01108-DDD-JPO Panel Decision

Morphew v. Chaffee County, Colorado

The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Barry Morphew's civil rights lawsuit, ruling that he failed to plausibly allege a lack of probable cause for his arrest and prosecution. The court held that the arrest affidavit contained sufficient evidence of motive, means, and opportunity to support the murder charges, regardless of the alleged misconduct by investigators.

Civil Rights - Section 1983 Criminal Drug Trafficking Fourth Amendment - Search & Seizure
Read summary →
Apr 6 2026
9th Cir. 2:23-cv-10018-SPG-RAO Unpublished

DAVID A. DIAZ v. MICHEL REY MOORE, RICHARD ALARCON; RICHARD ALATORRE; LAURA CHICK; RUTH GALANTER; MIKE HERNANDEZ; MARK RIDLEY THOMAS; JOEL WACHS; MICHAEL WOO; ZEV YAROLSLAVSKY;...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of David Diaz's civil rights lawsuit, ruling that his claims are barred because they would imply the invalidity of his 1999 conviction. The court further held that the doctrine of res judicata prevents Diaz from relitigating claims he previously brought in a 2001 suit.

Civil Rights - Section 1983 Constitutional Habeas Corpus - General (28 USC 2241)
Read summary →
Apr 3 2026
5th Cir. 25-60494 Per Curiam

Bishop v. Bennett

The Fifth Circuit dismissed Montez Lesha Bishop's appeal as frivolous because he failed to meaningfully challenge the district court's ruling that his Bivens claims were noncognizable. This dismissal counts as a strike toward the three-strike limit under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), restricting his ability to proceed in forma pauperis in future civil actions while incarcerated.

Civil Civil Rights - Section 1983
Read summary →
Apr 3 2026
6th Cir. 25-3323 Published

JOHN PETSCHE v. JERRY N. HRUBY; DAVID J. MATTY; GERALD F. BROSKI; LOUIS N. CAROUSE, JR.; LAURA REDINGER; KIMBERLY VERAS; CITY OF BRECKSVILLE, OHIO

The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for city officials, ruling that a former council member failed to prove his prosecution was retaliatory because he lacked probable cause to rebut the presumption of validity arising from a grand jury indictment. The court held that the official's undisclosed financial interest in a public contract negated any First Amendment protection, regardless of the government's motive.

Civil Civil Rights - Employment Civil Rights - Section 1983 Fourth Amendment - Search & Seizure
Read summary →
Apr 3 2026
1st Cir. 25-1324 Panel Decision

Wescott v. Stanfill

The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a First Amendment challenge to Maine's IOLTA program, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege that the program compelled their speech. The court held that the plaintiffs did not sufficiently demonstrate that the client funds in question would have earned net interest outside the IOLTA program, a necessary element for a compelled-speech claim under existing precedent.

Civil Civil Rights - Section 1983
Read summary →
Apr 2 2026
11th Cir. 1:25-cv-01186-TCB Per Curiam

Willie J. Mitchell, Sr. v. The State Court of Georgia, Judge Susan E. Edlein, Jamie Mack, Dennis J. Murphy, Officer Jason Wescott, et al.

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Willie Mitchell Sr.'s amended complaint, ruling that his claims were frivolous and failed to state a valid cause of action. The court held that despite prior orders to clarify his allegations, Mitchell's complaint remained a deficient 'shotgun pleading' barred by statutes of limitations, immunity doctrines, and a lack of private rights of action.

Civil Rights - Section 1983 Criminal Obstruction of Justice Statute of Limitations
Read summary →