Please enjoy the latest issue of Short Circuit, a weekly feature written by a group at the Institute for Justice.
New on the Bound By Oath Podcast: Stories berman v. parker. In 1954, the Supreme Court gave the green light to the era of urban renewal by abandoning previous constitutional limits on the government’s power to seize property from person A and give it to person B. It was a bad time.
new in fox news: since Berman, cities have been able to raze “blighted” neighborhoods and hand them over to private developers. But officials in Brentwood, Missouri, threatened to seize property that had not been damaged in the slightest. Does “blighted” mean “blighted”, or does it mean “coveted by the government”?
- Green card holders from Jamaica and the Dominican Republic were convicted in 2000 and 2012 respectively. ICE arrested both of them in 2019 and 2020 and held them for months without bail while deportation proceedings continued. Both men filed lawsuits claiming their detention violated due process. Second Circuit: Correct. We won’t specify when that will happen, but at some point, the government must hold bail hearings for non-citizen detainees.
- Diddy (aka Puff Daddy and P. Diddy), uh, has seen a lot of legal action lately. He succeeded in at least one of them, when the 3rd Circuit (unpublished) dismissed a pro se case seeking $45 million in damages and claiming Diddy’s “newfound status as a sexual predator” made him a Public nuisance (through advertising billboards featuring him), resulting in tortious interference (by allowing him to conduct business in a public place), and product liability (by allowing him to represent multiple companies in department stores).
- An officer was driving through Windsor, Virginia, and was pulled over because his new car’s temporary tag was obscured by the tinted rear window. Somehow, the encounter quickly escalated to two police officers pulling out guns and yelling at him, pepper-spraying him repeatedly, and dragging him from the car. He sued for Fourth Amendment violation. 4th Circuit: Most officers were granted qualified immunity except for one claim because one officer apparently went too far with a death threat. Objection: To be sure, the threats were “unprofessional,” but they did not extend the stay, so he should be immune from that as well.
- In the old days, Louis XIV would say “L’État, c’est moi”. Apparently, they’re saying that around the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, too. Google is seeking discovery from the Parks and Recreation Department after the South Carolina attorney general joined the state in an ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Google. But someone there, who may not be named Ron Swanson, said the department has sovereign immunity. Google: Well, the state waived sovereign immunity when it intervened in the case. Parks & Rec: That’s just the attorney general, he doesn’t speak for us. 4th Circuit: Yes, he did.
- Texans complained to the Llano County Public Library about children’s books about “butts and farts,” causing the books to be removed from shelves. More complaints prompted books about sex, gender and racism to be pulled from shelves. Library patrons sued, claiming the removal of the books violated the First Amendment and seeking a preliminary injunction. 5th Circuit: Agree; “A book shall not be removed for the sole or substantial reason that the decision-maker does not wish readers to be able to understand the book’s ideas or information.” Agree: Agree, there is no information in the book other than “butts and farts.” Dissent: Curatorial decisions are government speech, and the majority’s disagreement and agreement show how unworkable this ruling is.
- Today’s endless parade of immunity-related interlocutory appeals brings us to Quitman, Texas, where a police captain was fired in 2017 for filing a complaint in a friend’s criminal case Affidavit supporting change of trial venue and presiding officer due to corrupt relationship between Sheriff and District Attorney. 2019: Fired captain sues for First Amendment retaliation. 5th Circuit (2022, on motion to dismiss): No qualified immunity. 5th Circuit (2024, motion for summary judgment): Still no qualified immunity, proceed to trial immediately. Furthermore, there is no absolute immunity from prosecutors who threaten to use their discretion to suppress free speech.
- Allegation: National certifying agencies for medical professions coordinated with the Biden administration to censor and suppress the speech of doctors critical of positions taken by Dr. Anthony Fauci, lockdowns, mask mandates, COVID-19 vaccinations and abortion, including threats to decertify others Qualified doctors with these views. 5th Circuit: The district court was too hasty in rejecting First Amendment and antitrust challenges to these alleged conduct.
- Allegation: In 2014, a Beavercreek, Ohio, police officer was called to a Walmart on a (false, now-retracted) report of an active shooter; he shot and killed the suspect on sight. oops! The man picked up an unpackaged, unloaded pellet gun (which looked like an AR-15) from the shelf and continued shopping. He was not a threat, and when officers fired at him, the gun was pointed at the ground. 6th Circuit: It’s premature to appeal dismissal of one Walmart claim; concedes trial on other claims. (The claims against officials, chiefs and the city were settled in 2020.)
- Does the Second Amendment protect the right to build a thousand-yard commercial shooting range? No, name two of the three opinions in the Sixth Circuit case in which your briefer learned that Revolutionary War-era sharpshooters were recorded hitting targets 900 yards (but never 1,000 yards) away.
- According to reliable sources, the Nazi Party developed a great disdain for the typefaces of twentieth-century typeface designer Lucian Bernhard – based on the (wrong) assumption that he was Jewish. The Seventh Circuit also didn’t like Mr. Bernhard’s font (at least not Bernhard Modern), though for less Nazi reasons: The font just makes judicial eyeballs nervous. Ask the court if it might be better served by simply amending its circuit rules to formally classify typefaces that are permitted or disfavored. Be careful though, CA7: Don’t follow in the footsteps of the Northern District of Georgia, where local rules express a strong preference for “book Antigua” that doesn’t exist in the tropics. (Shout out to IJ’s in-house samplers for catching that one.) While we’re on the subject, let’s take a look at the circuit’s Layout requirements and recommendations for presentations and other papers: According to rumors, the font chosen by the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office was not Century, but a variation of Century Expanded.
- In Illinois, where marijuana is legal, does the mere smell of unburned marijuana justify a warrantless car search? The Seventh Circuit agreed because the odor could indicate illegal use, namely transporting marijuana in a non-odor-proof container, which is a misdemeanor under Illinois law. (In an amicus brief, the IJ urged the court to hold that the odor of marijuana alone did not justify the search, given other innocent, reasonable explanations for the odor.)
- Pretrial detainees held at St. Louis’ notorious (and now closed) medium-security facility filed a class-action lawsuit claiming they were being held in conditions “equal to or exceeding 88 degrees.” They move for class status. District Court: Oops! Sounds awful, course certified. 8th Circuit: You have to say it wasn’t just everyone in the class who suffered from “rotten physical condition.” However, the city failed on many other procedural issues because we would not “work for it by developing arguments”[s] and put on flesh [their] bone.
- Mom sees an ad for the toy on Facebook and orders one for her kid. But it’s a sad day for the family when another toy arrives. She tried to get a refund, but it turned out it was a scam and the supplier was in China. She and another scammer sued Facebook with multiple claims. Facebook: Article 230! Ninth Circuit: 230 did not apply to contract claims because Facebook’s commitment to review scam ads was separate from its status as a publisher. But as far as torts are concerned, these claims rely on a duty to regulate the speech of third parties, which is what 230 means. Consensus: These 230 things are out of control.
- Less sophisticated commentators may focus on the substance of the Ninth Circuit’s (2-1) ruling that allowing indigent pretrial detainees to languish in jail awaiting trials that defense attorneys cannot proceed with may violate Oregon’s Sixth Amendment was appointed, which could happen in a few months. but what do we know our Readers’ needs——younger Abstain. And you will definitely lose your monocle younger The analysis here believes that even if youngerAll the requirements are met, and it is recommended to give up under “special circumstances”.
- Prosecutors in Plea Negotiations: We agree with the recommendation for a sentence at the bottom of the guideline range. District Court Prosecutor: We recommend the minimum sentence for this drug dealer who is at the top of the food chain and is worse than a murderer. District Court: This is the top of the guidance range. 9th Circuit (en banc): The government did not violate the agreement, but it was not a clear breach, so we affirm.
- Dissenting Judge: I seek to explain why the majority of the Eleventh Circuit’s panel erred in concluding that plaintiffs had standing to challenge a venture capital competition open only to black women. Can you think of a sports analogy that really resonates with the American legal community, particularly in Alabama, Georgia and Florida? Clerk: Where’s the football? Dissenting judge: Use scones! It’s so perfect!
- Miami-Dade County police officer: I am entitled to qualified immunity because no published federal appellate opinion warned me about shooting a barking dog twice after my colleague had already tasered a barking dog Barking dogs are unconstitutional. Eleventh Circuit: There are things in life, my friends, that we wish you knew. The case was not dismissed!
- Man engages in shootout with Atlanta-area police. After he fell, they detonated a flash-bang grenade to see if he would react; he did not, but officers allegedly continued to shoot him anyway. An autopsy found 43 bullets and bullet fragments in his body. Too much force? Eleventh Circuit: Well, the Supreme Court has acknowledged excessive force claims against federal officers. but These Officials are part of a joint state-federal task force that includes U.S. Marshals, and SCOTUS never said anything about it. Luckily, his mom (the plaintiff) was able to ask some federal agency to investigate this, so it’s not like there’s no remedy.
- In 2021, FBI agents lied to a judge, obtained warrants to search safes owned by no suspects, and then issued hundreds of seizure notices without ever stating that the owners of the safes had done anything wrong. Then they lost many of the boxes’ contents, including the retiree’s life savings. But don’t take our word for it. Go to Los Angeles Times And saw an FBI agent admit it under oath. Then click here to learn more.
Speaking of fishy, did a Pasadena, Texas attorney lie to the judge? Last year, the city reneged on a settlement agreement that would have allowed our client to open his auto repair shop and resolve his challenge to the city’s unreasonable parking requirements. In April, the city’s attorney told a judge that the City Council had approved his legal strategy of conducting an interim review to further delay resolution of the case. but now texas Councilors reportedly said they had not approved such a thing. wilderness. Click here to learn more about this case.
