Topic
Every decision we've filed under Civil Rights - Section 1983.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an inmate's claims regarding the Interstate Corrections Compact and Eighth Amendment violations but reversed the dismissal of his procedural due process claim. The court held that prolonged administrative segregation without meaningful periodic review violates the Fourteenth Amendment when officials indicate outcomes are predetermined.
The Sixth Circuit reversed the denial of qualified immunity for a jail mental-health official who ordered a compromise placement for a suicidal detainee. The court held that no clearly established law prohibited her decision to balance suicide prevention with the need to reduce the detainee's mental distress.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court's award of attorney's fees to a defendant under a Colorado statute, rejecting the plaintiff's arguments that the claims were primarily federal civil rights cases. The court held that while federal law preempts fee awards for § 1983 claims, the statute applies to the separate state-law tort claims dismissed in the case.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for defendants in an excessive-force suit because the plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies. The court held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act bars litigation when an inmate has not filed a standard grievance or provided evidence of an informal one in the district court.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by Pamela and James Bennett against the United States and various officials. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction because the plaintiffs failed to establish a money-mandating source of law under the Little Tucker Act.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for school officials and law enforcement in a civil rights lawsuit brought by a middle school student. The court held that a school official's search of the student's phone and subsequent questioning did not violate the Fourth or Fifth Amendments.
The Fourth Circuit reversed a district court ruling that had granted a preliminary injunction allowing a child to attend a virtual public school without vaccination. The appellate court held that West Virginia's compulsory vaccination law is a neutral and generally applicable regulation that does not violate the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause.
The Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Paul Cononie's second amended complaint without leave to amend. The court held that Cononie failed to state a plausible claim for relief and did not follow the district court's specific directives to cure pleading deficiencies.
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.
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.