Brian Morris
@Chuck_Morris
From the Kentucky side of Cincinnati - Civil Rights Attorney @LoevyandLoevy - @nkuedu Alum - @Peacecorps Mongolia - optimistic Bearcat, Bengals, and Reds fan.
Yes, today’s grant is the case where the man went to jail with a copy of the Fifth Circuit opinion protecting his rights, and they threw it away
#SCOTUS grants one case involving a Rastafarian man who forcibly shaved in a Louisiana prison. Question for the Justices centers on so-called Bivens claims against federal officials. No. 24-1197.
🚨HUGE congrats to @pjaicomo & @IJ on a unanimous win at #SCOTUS for the Martin family. As Sotomayor is right to point out, the gov't's argument that stopping to check the mailbox # to make sure you're at the right house before raiding it & "terrorizing" a family is nuts.
Third SCOTUS decision: Martin v. U.S., the case over the wrong-house raid. Gorsuch has the opinion for a unanimous court vacating the Eleventh Circuit's decision against Martin and requiring a new look at the case. Sotomayor, joined by Jackson, concurred. supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf…
🔥 from Thomas & Gorsuch concurrence questioning McDonnell Douglas framework: “Atextual, judge-created legal rules have a tendency to generate complexity, confusion, & erroneous results.” It should be easier for plaintiffs to get to a jury! (Same for qualified immunity.)
BREAKING: A 9-0 Supreme Court says straight plaintiffs must be held to the *same* evidentiary standard as LGBTQ+ and other minority-group litigants when claiming workplace discrimination. #SCOTUS supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf…
J. Wardlaw in CA9 today. It's *INSANE* that this even has to be said: "Isn't it beyond debate that police officers cannot fabricate evidence to win a conviction. Wouldn't a reasonable police officer know [that] they shouldn't make it up." #EndQualifiedImmunity #AppellateTwitter
Fascinating that the same party who claims not to trust the government to do much of anything, wouldn't dare question the government's ability to coerce guilty pleas, withhold exculpatory evidence, bribe witnesses, elicit false testimony—all of which occurs with regularity.
NEW in Bolts: Louisiana Republicans passed a new law that effectively eviscerates people's ability to claim their innocence and seek relief once they've been convicted. huge blow to the rights of people in prison in a state full of wrongful convictions: boltsmag.org/louisiana-limi…
An important post-Bivens question is going to be whether an officer was wearing his state or federal hat when he violated the constitution. At a minimum, this question should go to the jury! #AppellateTwitter
IS BIVENS DEAD? In Boule v. Egbert, SCOTUS gutted—but left alive—the cause of action against federal workers. Based on today's reversal in Goldey v. Fields, SCOTUS will continue its death-by-1000-cuts approach. This keeps the pressure off Congress to fix this enormous problem.
No noted dissents ☠️
IS BIVENS DEAD? In Boule v. Egbert, SCOTUS gutted—but left alive—the cause of action against federal workers. Based on today's reversal in Goldey v. Fields, SCOTUS will continue its death-by-1000-cuts approach. This keeps the pressure off Congress to fix this enormous problem.
Great day at #SCOTUS for criminal defendants! But Alito remains so disingenuous. An inmate wants DNA the gov't *refused* to test that he says shows he wasn't at the murder scene. Alito: Let me tell you how terrible this murder was, so he shouldn't get the DNA.
NEW: In Gutierrez v. Saenz, a case about whether a Texas inmate has standing to sue a district attorney over untested DNA evidence, the court holds that he does.
Textualism shots fired! Gorsuch & Jackson spar over who's approach is more "pliable" or "malleable," w/ Jackson saying pure textualism is "somehow always flexible enough to secure the majority's desired outcome." Sotomayor slowly walks away . . . #AppellateTwitter
New: In Stanley v. City of Sanford, Florida, a case about whether a retired firefighter's lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act can go forward even though the alleged discrimination occurred after her retirement, the Supreme Court holds that it cannot.
#SCOTUS grants cert in Case v. Montana, a 4th Am. case that will decide if cops can cry "emergency" and enter a home w/out probable cause that an emergency is even happening. This case shows the danger in a lower standard: The cops knew there wasn't an emergency & still went in.
An epic docket entry from Judge Seeger. Abolish certificates of service b/c we all file things using CM/ECF. "There's no value-add by filing a certificate that tells everyone what they already know, and lets them know what they're holding in their hands." #AppellateTwitter
