Topic
Every decision we've filed under Civil Rights - Section 1983.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court grant of qualified immunity to police officers who fatally shot a suspect who reached for a firearm and turned toward them. The court held that the officers' use of deadly force was objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment given the suspect's noncompliance and immediate threat.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court dismissal of a Section nineteen eighty-three claim alleging a state-created danger. The court held that the plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege that the school district knew the student was violent or that its policies caused the attack.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a pro se plaintiff's § 1983 claims against state judges and officials but vacated the judgment to remand with instructions for a dismissal without prejudice. The court held that the plaintiff abandoned her challenge to the domestic relations exception on appeal, requiring the lower court to dismiss the case on that specific jurisdictional ground rather than other procedural bases.
The Tenth Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a prisoner's Eighth Amendment claim, holding that the lower court erred by relying on a Martinez Report to resolve factual disputes during the screening stage. The appellate court clarified that while such reports may help identify frivolous claims, they cannot be used to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim when the report conflicts with the plaintiff's pleadings.
The Fourth Circuit dismissed an appeal challenging a magistrate judge's denial of a motion to amend a civil rights complaint because the order was not final or immediately appealable. The court clarified that the subsequent grant of summary judgment does not cure the jurisdictional defect for the earlier amendment denial.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights complaint because the plaintiff failed to file specific objections to a magistrate judge's recommendation. This procedural failure forfeited the plaintiff's right to appellate review of the case's merits.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court order dismissing a civil rights complaint as duplicative. The appellate court found no reversible error in the lower court's decision to reject the appeal.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Richard Vandale Clowney's Section 1983 complaint because his appellate objections to the magistrate judge's recommendation lacked the required specificity. Although Clowney filed objections on time, they were too generalized to alert the district court to the true legal grounds for his appeal, resulting in a waiver of substantive review.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court order granting summary judgment in a civil rights action brought by a North Carolina inmate. The appellate panel found no reversible error in the lower court's disposition of the case.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's summary dismissal of the plaintiff's civil rights complaint, finding no reversible error in the lower court's ruling. Simultaneously, the court ordered the plaintiff to show cause why he should not face monetary sanctions or a prefiling injunction due to a pattern of excessive and frivolous filings.