Officer Shane Prickett of the Florence City Police Department used a Taser on Lara Roosevelt-Hennix while Roosevelt-Hennix’s hands were cuffed behind her back and she was seated in the back seat of a police car. Roosevelt-Hennix brought suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging Prickett subjected her to excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, ... More...   $0 (05-16-2013 - CO)

These claims brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 raise the issue whether certain actions taken by South Carolina prison officials after an inmate’s suspected receipt of contraband, including suspension of the inmate’s visitation privileges for two years, violated his constitutional rights. We conclude that the prison warden who imposed the challenged actions is shielded by qualified immunity from ... More...   $0 (05-15-2013 - SC)

Costa Mesa Municipal Code § 2-61 makes it a misdemeanor for members of the public who speak at City Council meetings to engage in “disorderly, insolent, or disruptive behavior.� Benito Acosta (“Acosta�) was removed from the Costa Mesa City Council meeting for an alleged violation of the ordinance. Acosta appeals the district court’s

ACOSTA V. 4 CITY OF COSTA MESA

dismissal... More...   $0 (05-03-2013 - CA)

Appellants seek reversal of the district court’s order denying their motion to dismiss claims asserted against them by Michael Wilson, Sr. under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Wilson alleges he was unlawfully detained and deprived of his constitutional right to a prompt probable cause determination. Appellants claim they are entitled to qualified immunity. The district court concluded Wilson’s complaint a... More...   $0 (05-03-2013 - NM)

This appeal presents the question whether three officials in a rural county of Georgia are entitled to a summary judgment against a complaint that they violated the civil rights of a father and son who had been involved in an aborted exchange of property between a previously engaged couple. When Dustin Myers and Kelley Bowman ended their engagement to be married, Dustin attempted to retrieve the d... More...   $0 (04-10-2013 - GA)

This excessive force case against officers of the Broadview Heights Police Department (BHPD) and the City of Broadview Heights arises from the fatal arrest of William Parker Martin, an unarmed and mentally unstable 19-year-old. Martin’s estate sued several BHPD officials asserting that the use of excessive force during the arrest violated Martin’s rights under the Constitution and Ohio law. Th... More...   $0 (04-09-2013 - OH)

Appellant Deana Pollard Sacks challenges the trial court‘s summary judgments in favor of appellees Brian Weil Zimmerman and Andrew Todd McKinney, IV. Zimmerman and McKinney have served as counsel for the defendants in underlying litigation in which Sacks is suing numerous parties. The trial court entered a take-nothing judgment as to Sacks‘ invasion of privacy claims against Zimmerman and McKi... More...   $0 (04-04-2013 - TX)

A police officer, who violates another’s constitutional right, will receive qualified immunity from suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 if the right the officer violated was not protected by clearly established law at the time he acted. See Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 232 (2009). Since 1998, clear precedent has established that a police officer violates the Fourteenth Amendment due process claus... More...   $0 (04-03-2013 - CA)

Defendants South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) and the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) (collectively referred to as "defendants") appeal from a judgment in plaintiff Janet Henebema's favor, entered after a jury trial, and an order denying their motion for a remittitur. Plaintiff cross-appeals from an order denying her request for pre-judgment interest pursuant to Rule 4:58-2(a)(2).1
More...   $0 (04-01-2013 - NJ)

After a vehicle pursuit during the early morning hours of July 27, 2008, Officer Christopher Van Ness of the Yarmouth, Massachusetts Police Department shot and killed Andre Martins. Plaintiff-appellee Camila Campos, individually and as administratrix of Martins's estate, brought this civil rights action against defendants-appellants Van Ness and the Town of Yarmouth under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Ma... More...   $0 (04-01-2013 - MA)

We are once again asked to consider a case in which prison guards were investigated and reassigned after a major jailbreak occurred on their watch. We previously outlined the peculiar facts of this case in detail, Hernandez v. Cook County Sheriff’s Office, 634 F.3d 906, 909-11 (7th Cir. 2011), so a brief recitation is all that is required here.

2 No. 12-1941

Plaintiffs, Ivan He... More...   $0 (04-01-2013 - IL)

Plaintiff-appellant Crystal Moses seeks damages for what she alleges was false arrest and malicious prosecution attributable to defendant-appellee Mark Mele. In a thoughtful opinion, the court below concluded that the defendant was protected by qualified immunity under federal law and official immunity under New Hampshire law. Moses v. Mele, No. 10-CV-253, 2012 WL 1416002, at *4 (D.N.H. Apr. 24, ... More...   $0 (03-27-2013 - NH)

Atheists of Florida and Ellenbeth Wachs, Director of the Lakeland Chapter
of the Atheists of Florida, (collectively “AOF�), appeal from the district court’s
order denying their motion for summary judgment and granting summary
judgment in favor of the City of Lakeland, Florida and its mayor, Gow Fields,
(collectively “Lakelandâ€� or “Lakeland Cityâ€�) in this action filed ... More...   $0 (03-26-2013 - FL)

Plaintiffs-Appellants, Ronald Curtis, Cedric Johnson, and Curvis Bickham (collectively, “Appellantsâ€�) appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment on their claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in favor of Defendants-Appellees: (i) W. Anthony, a sergeant in the Houston Police Department (“HPDâ€�); (ii) R. Chappell, an officer in the HPD; (iii) C. W. Stivers, an officer in the HPD; (iv) t... More...   $0 (03-26-2013 - TX)

On multiple occasions at Latta Middle School and Latta
High School in Latta, South Carolina, school officials prohibited
Candice Hardwick from wearing and on one occasion
punished her for wearing Confederate flag1 shirts at school.

Candice Hardwick, by and through her parents, brought this
action against the school principals and the school board pursuant
to 42 U.S.C. ... More...   $0 (03-25-2013 - SC)

Charles Kinison Jr. was indicted for receiving and possessing child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) and § 2252(a)(4)(B) after a search of his home turned up over 300 images and 40 videos of child
pornography. The district court granted Kinison’s motion to suppress this evidence on
the ground that the magistrate did not have a substantial basis for concluding that the... More...   $0 (03-19-2013 - KY)

Plaintiff-Appellant Sherry Carroll (“the plaintiffâ€�) appeals from a March 9, 2012, decision and order of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, which denied the plaintiff’s motion to set aside a jury verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. After a two-day trial, the jury found that the plaintiff failed to prove her claim—brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1... More...   $0 (03-12-2013 - NY)

Plaintiffs-Appellants, Ronald Curtis, Cedric Johnson, and Curvis Bickham (collectively, “Appellantsâ€�) appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment on their claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in favor of Defendants-Appellees: (i) W. Anthony, a sergeant in the Houston Police Department (“HPDâ€�); (ii) R. Chappell, an officer in the HPD; (iii) C. W. Stivers, an officer in the HPD; (iv) t... More...   $0 (03-07-2013 - TX)

13 Daniel Trottier (“Trottier�), a Vermont State Police
14 officer, appeals from an order entered in the United States
15 District Court for the District of Vermont (Reiss, J.),
16 denying his motion for qualified immunity in a claim brought
17 by motorist Marie Winfield (“Winfield�) under 42 U.S.C. §
18 1983, alleging that Trottier violated her Fourth Amendment
19... More...   $0 (03-06-2013 - NY)

Donna and Mark Clyce (the Clyces) sued Hunt County, Texas, the Hunt County Juvenile Board, and individual detention officers under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the defendants violated their minor son C.C.’s constitutional right to medical care while he was detained at the Hunt County Juvenile Detention Center (the Detention Center). The district court granted summary judgment in favor of all... More...   $0 (03-04-2013 - TX)

Captain Garry Branch, Lieutenant Daniel Blair, and Correctional Officers Timothy Williford, Andrew Fox, Shannon Clubbs, and David E. Parsons (collectively Correctional Officers) appeal the district court’s denial of their motion for summary judgment based upon qualified immunity. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

I. Background

The facts in this... More...   $0 (02-28-2013 - MO)

Plaintiff-Appellant David Becker was pulled over by Defendant-Appellee Officer Jason Bateman in a parking lot in Heber City, Utah. A confrontation ensued which ended in Becker being thrown to the ground and suffering a severe traumatic brain injury. Becker brought suit against Officer Bateman, the Heber City Chief of Police in his official capacity, and Heber City under 42 U.S.C. §1983, alleging ... More...   $0 (02-27-2013 - UT)

Melvin and Idella Folkerts are the legal guardians and conservators of their adult son, Travis Michael Folkerts. In May 2008, Travis1 was investigated and charged with sexual assault. Alleging deprivation of his constitutional and statutory rights, the Folkertses sued the City of Waverly, Iowa, and Troy Schneider, an investigator with the police department. The district court2 granted summary judg... More...   $0 (02-25-2013 - IA)

This appeal addresses whether defendant Dr. Tuong V. Thai, a prison psychiatrist, is entitled to immunity from state and federal civil claims brought by the estate of the now-deceased Scott Quigley, Jr., who Thai treated for moderate depression. The estate alleges that Thai’s medical care caused Quigley’s death, violated Quigley’s Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual puni... More...   $0 (02-21-2013 - MI)

This case arises from the arrest of Plaintiffs–Appellants David and Brenda Chimera on their property in rural Sequoyah County, Oklahoma. The Chimeras, a married couple, had been locked in a feud for several months with one of their neighbors over the use of an access road that crossed the Chimeras’ land. A confrontation on that road on December 30, 2008 led to the Chimeras’ arrest for breach... More...   $0 (02-21-2013 - OK)