From the Kentucky side of Cincinnati - Civil Rights Attorney @LoevyandLoevy - @nkuedu Alum - @Peacecorps Mongolia - optimistic Bearcat, Bengals, & Reds fan.
Great catching up with @IJSanders and Anya to discuss the Fourth Circuit’s reversal of summary judgment in McPherson. When juries get to actually hear the merits of civil rights cases, the Constitution wins!
Bonus 🏇🏇🏇predictions!
In an unpublished decision, Kennedy v. Smith, Judge Nalbandian says the 6th Cir. won't make qualified immunity arguments for gov't officials.
Kennedy shows the folly of SCOTUS making QI immediately appealable in Mitchell v. Forsyth.
These appeals waste time and resources.
The Fourth Amendment requires probable cause be supported by “Oath or affirmation” before a warrant can issue, but the Supreme Court effectively removed that requirement in Jones v. US.
Today, @IJ filed a cert. petition in Mendenhall v. Denver, urging the Court to put it back.
McDonald’s created a racially hostile work environment by telling Black leaders they deserved lower positions & were “angry Black women.” When they complained, McDonald’s launched a sham investigation to retaliate. A jury will finally hear the case!
Front page @chicagotribune
QUALIFIED IMMUNITY (BAD) NEWS:
Through its so-called "shadow docket," SCOTUS summarily reversed the 2d Cir.'s denial of qualified immunity in Zorn v. Linton and left in place the 5th Cir.'s grant of QI in (@TheFIREorg) case Villarreal v. Alaniz.
Dissent(s) in both.
I’m sorry, what … SCOTUS summarily reverses denial of qualified immunity (3 liberals dissent) b/c apparently using a specific pain compliance technique on passive protestors is *too broad* a principle to clearly establish that it violates the Constitution. HUGE QI step backwards
Thanks, SCOTUS, Olivier is great. Now answer the other question and fix Erma Watson’s case, where the Texas prosecutor secretly worked for the judge in his own case.
Remember the Texas prosecutor that secretly worked for the judge in his own cases? The en banc CA5 today ruled against a plaintiff looking for compensation for her conviction in that rigged case
Judge Willett leads a ferocious DEFCON 1 dissent
https://t.co/Jo0EqjaRtR
Now the viral McDonald’s CEO gets to explain to a federal jury (in September) what he meant by telling Black Executives that “they deserved to have lower-ranking positions than the ones they actually held.” @McDonalds has a long history of racial discrimination.
A mayor and a police chief "mistook their authority to maintain order for a license to suppress criticism," says U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose.
https://t.co/dx9aeLWKHq
🚨Huge win for Noah, @IJ, @pjaicomo and the First Amendment🚨 Federal court says Newton officials violated Noah’s constitutional rights when they arrested him for calling them fascists. What should be obvious, but wasn’t in Newton: Gov’t can’t welcome praise & suppress criticism.
@IJ Finding out phase continues, as district court grants summary judgment to man arrested for calling police chief a “fascist” during Iowa city council meeting. Solid victory for @IJ and @pjaicomo.
https://t.co/V64YEgeA6P
🚨🚨🚨
@IJ just scored a major First Amendment and qualified immunity victory for Noah Peterson!
At the direction of the mayor, police in Newton, Iowa arrested Noah in 2022 for criticizing the mayor and police at city council meetings.
We sued. And we won in court.
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🚨Huge win for Noah, @IJ, @pjaicomo and the First Amendment🚨 Federal court says Newton officials violated Noah’s constitutional rights when they arrested him for calling them fascists. What should be obvious, but wasn’t in Newton: Gov’t can’t welcome praise & suppress criticism.
Last night, the mayor of Newton, IA (@GettoKnowNewton) ejected Noah Petersen (@IcAntifa) from a city council meeting for "defaming" the chief of police by calling him a "fascist":
"Holding federal officials accountable for unconstitutional acts is now more difficult than ever, even as the need for accountability is particularly acute, with thousands of federal agents deployed in American cities" @UnPopulistMag@IJ
https://t.co/hGpwsaFNhs
My @IJ colleagues @pjaicomo and Anya Bidwell have a great column in Bloomberg explaining the unjust doctrines that protect federal agents from accountability and why Congress must act. https://t.co/MKpbKrsWJ9
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.