Civil Rights Foreclosure

Civil Rights Equal protection

Civil Rights Warrantless search; exigent circumstances; burden of proof

Civil Rights Excessive force; qualified immunity

Civil Rights Due process

Civil Rights Duty to protect Kirk Dewindt appeals from the judgment of the circuit court that dismissed his action under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (West 2011) against Bruce Luedtke. Dewindt argues that the circuit court erred when it dismissed his claim. The circuit court determined that Dewindt had not stated a claim under § 1983 because he had not established ...

Civil Rights Attorney fees; frivolous claims When a plaintiff’s suit involves both frivolous and non-frivolous claims, a court may grant reasonable fees to the defendant, but only for costs that the defendant would not have incurred but for the frivolous claims. Congress’s purpose in enacting §1988—to  relieve defendants of the burdens associated with fending off frivolous  litigation—points to the proper ...

Civil Rights Prison conditions; due process The plaintiff failed to present sufficient evidence to determine whether 240 days in segregation at Columbia Correctional Institution is a deprivation of liberty under the Due Process Clause. “When answering Marion’s complaint, defendants denied that conditions in DS-1 confinement deprived him of liberty or property. Marion had to come up with evidence to demonstrate ...

Civil Rights Attorney fees; prevailing party Litigants who prevailed in the U.S. Supreme Court are prevailing parties entitled to attorney fees, even if the defendants repealed the unconstitutional statutes before the district court could order them to on remand. “The municipalities insist that the Supreme Court’s decision addressed only ‘a preliminary legal issue that did not resolve plaintiffs’ claims against ...

Civil Rights Material witness statute The objectively reasonable arrest and detention of a material witness pursuant to a validly obtained warrant cannot be challenged as unconstitutional on the basis of allegations that the arresting authority had an improper motive. Whether a detention is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment “is predominantly an objective inquiry.” Indianapolis v. Edmond, 531 U. S. 32, ...

Civil Rights Qualified immunity; appeal The Court may review a lower court’s constitutional ruling at the behest of government officials who have won final judgment on qualified immunity grounds. This Article III standard often will be met when immunized officials seek to challenge a determination that their conduct violated the Constitution because that ruling may have prospective effect on the ...