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Kisela v. Hughes, No. 17-467 (U.S. Supreme Court) (583 U.S. ___; 138 S.Ct. 1148) (April 2, 2018) (Per Curiam)

Article • March 12, 2018 • from P&J March, 2018

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified

Kisela v. Hughes, No. 17-467 (U.S. Supreme Court) (583 U.S. ___; 138 S.Ct. 1148) (April 2, 2018) (Per Curiam) by A handful of times every year, the Supreme Court summarily reverses an opinion from a court below - which means that the Court decides to issue a merits opinion on …

Denton v. Hernandez, No. 90-1846 (U.S. Supreme Court) (504 U.S. 25; 112 S.Ct. 1715) (May 4, 1992) (Justice O'Connor)

Article • February 22, 2018

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Frivolous Claims

Denton v. Hernandez, No. 90-1846 (U.S. Supreme Court) (504 U.S. 25; 112 S.Ct. 1715) (May 4, 1992) (Justice O'Connor) by Here the Court held that the dismissal of claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 as frivolous must be reviewed for abuse of discretion only, and thus it was improper for …

U.S. v. Rivera-Ruperto, No. 12-2364 (1st Cir.) (852 F.3d 1) (January 13, 2017) (Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson)

Article • May 29, 2017 • from P&J May, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Cruel and Unusual Punishment

U.S. v. Rivera-Ruperto, No. 12-2364 (1st Cir.) (852 F.3d 1) (January 13, 2017) (Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson) by This decision is noted for Judge Juan Torruella’s delicious and heart-warming dissent in which he railed against the rank idiocy of a combined sentence of 161 plus years given to a man …

County of Los Angeles v. Mendez, No. 16-369 (U.S. Supreme Court) (581 U.S. ___; 137 S.Ct. 1539) (May 30, 2017) (Justice Alito)

Article • May 29, 2017 • from P&J May, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified

County of Los Angeles v. Mendez, No. 16-369 (U.S. Supreme Court) (581 U.S. ___; 137 S.Ct. 1539) (May 30, 2017) (Justice Alito) by In this decision the Supreme Court vacated a $4 million judgment against two deputies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department that was awarded to the Plaintiffs/Respondents …

U.S. v. D.W., No. 13-CR-173 (E.D.N.Y.) (198 F.Supp.3d 18) (June 25, 2015) (Judge Jack B. Weinstein)

Article • July 13, 2015 • from P&J July, 2015

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Cruel and Unusual Punishment

U.S. v. D.W., No. 13-CR-173 (E.D.N.Y.) (198 F.Supp.3d 18) (June 25, 2015) (Judge Jack B. Weinstein) by Once again, our favorite judicial maverick, District Judge Jack Weinstein, has raised some weighty and searing questions about the automatically harsh sentences that are required to be imposed in child porn and sexual …

Anderson v. Colorado, No. 10-cv-01005-RBJ-KMT (D.Colo.) (887 F.Supp.2d 1133) (August 24, 2012) (Judge R. Brooke Jackson)

Article • April 15, 2013 • from P&J April, 2013

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Anderson v. Colorado, No. 10-cv-01005-RBJ-KMT (D.Colo.) (887 F.Supp.2d 1133) (August 24, 2012) (Judge R. Brooke Jackson) by Not long ago, Psychology Professor Craig Haney from the University of California, Santa Cruz, testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights about the evils of solitary …

Hilton v. Wright, No. 10-135-cv (L) (2nd Cir.) (673 F.3d 120) (March 9, 2012) (Per Curiam)

Article • December 1, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions

Hilton v. Wright, No. 10-135-cv (L) (2nd Cir.) (673 F.3d 120) (March 9, 2012) (Per Curiam) by In a suit under 42 USC section 1983, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Rehabilitation Act against the New York State Department of Correctional Services and its chief medical officer: 1) …

Jones v. Town of New Haven, No. 10-4731-cv (L) (2nd Cir.) (691 F.3d 72) (August 1, 2012) (Judge Pierre N. Leval)

Article • December 1, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Sovereign/Municipal

Jones v. Town of New Haven, No. 10-4731-cv (L) (2nd Cir.) (691 F.3d 72) (August 1, 2012) (Judge Pierre N. Leval) by In plaintiff's suit against a town brought under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, for the killing of her son by a police officer, alleging numerous claims, including that the …

Blackmon v. Garza, No. 11-40316 (5th Cir.) (484 Fed.Appx. 866) (July 30, 2012) (Per Curiam)

Article • August 6, 2012 • from P&J August, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Blackmon v. Garza, No. 11-40316 (5th Cir.) (484 Fed.Appx. 866) (July 30, 2012) (Per Curiam) by In an extremely wary decision that the panel specifically directed should not be published or treated as precedential, a panel from the Fifth Circuit held that “allowing a prisoner to be exposed to extreme …

Messerschmidt v. Millender, No. 10-704 (U.S. Supreme Court) (565 U.S. 535; 132 S.Ct. 1235) (February 22, 2012) (Justice (John G.) Roberts)

Article • March 5, 2012 • from P&J March, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified

Messerschmidt v. Millender, No. 10-704 (U.S. Supreme Court) (565 U.S. 535; 132 S.Ct. 1235) (February 22, 2012) (Justice (John G.) Roberts) by Here a divided Court held that two police officers may have erred in executing a search warrant that lacked probable cause, but they were not “plainly incompetent” so …

Raysor v. U.S., No. 09-3871-pr (2nd Cir.) (647 F.3d 491) (July 27, 2011) (Judge Ralph K. Jr. Winter)

Article • December 1, 2011

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Hearings

Raysor v. U.S., No. 09-3871-pr (2nd Cir.) (647 F.3d 491) (July 27, 2011) (Judge Ralph K. Jr. Winter) by In a petition for habaes relief from petitioner's conviction for gang and drug-related activities, judgment of the district courting denying petition is reversed where the court erred in concluding that petitioner …

Camreta v. Greene, No. 09-1454 (U.S. Supreme Court) (563 U.S. 692; 131 S.Ct. 2020) (May 26, 2011) (Justice Kagan)

Article • June 13, 2011 • from P&J June, 2011

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified

Camreta v. Greene, No. 09-1454 (U.S. Supreme Court) (563 U.S. 692; 131 S.Ct. 2020) (May 26, 2011) (Justice Kagan) by [Editor's Note: Because the Court essentially decided that the main issue in this closely watched case regarding qualified immunity was “moot,” and because the Court therefore declined to rule on …

Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., No. 08-15693 (9th Cir.) (614 F.3d 1070) (September 8, 2010) (Judge Raymond C. Fisher)

Article • September 20, 2010 • from P&J September, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Alien Tort Statute

Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., No. 08-15693 (9th Cir.) (614 F.3d 1070) (September 8, 2010) (Judge Raymond C. Fisher) by Back in 2007, five individuals, all foreign nationals, sued Jeppesen Dataplan, a Boeing subsidiary, under the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350, alleging various claims arising out of Jeppesen’s …

Dawn v. Ciavarella, No. Civ. No. 3:10-CV-0797 (M.D.Pa.) (2010 WL 3122858) (August 9, 2010) (Judge A. Richard Caputo)

Article • August 23, 2010 • from P&J August, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Judicial

Dawn v. Ciavarella, No. Civ. No. 3:10-CV-0797 (M.D.Pa.) (2010 WL 3122858) (August 9, 2010) (Judge A. Richard Caputo) by This decision is another episode in the continuing and widely-publicized scandal in Pennsylvania in which two former Luzerne County, PA judges - Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan - were …

Vega v. Lantz, No. 08-4748-pr (2nd Cir.) (596 F.3d 77) (March 2, 2010) (Judge Barrington D. Jr. Parker)

Article • June 28, 2010 • from P&J June, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Stigma Plus

Vega v. Lantz, No. 08-4748-pr (2nd Cir.) (596 F.3d 77) (March 2, 2010) (Judge Barrington D. Jr. Parker) by In a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action claiming that plaintiff-inmate was improperly labeled as a sex offender in violation of the Due Process Clause, summary judgment for plaintiff is reversed where: …

Agredano v. U.S., No. 2008-5114 (Fed. Cir.) (598 F.3d 1278) (February 17, 2010) (Judge Haldane Robert Mayer)

Article • February 22, 2010 • from P&J February, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Sovereign/Municipal

Agredano v. U.S., No. 2008-5114 (Fed. Cir.) (598 F.3d 1278) (February 17, 2010) (Judge Haldane Robert Mayer) by Because the Federal Circuit has no jurisdiction over criminal cases (it primarily deals with patent and trademark appeals and appeals from the Federal Court of Claims), we rarely review cases from this …

Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., No. 08-15693 (9th Cir.) (563 F.3d 992) (April 28, 2009) (Judge Michael Daly Hawkins)

Article • April 1, 2009 • from P&J April, 2009

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Alien Tort Statute

Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., No. 08-15693 (9th Cir.) (563 F.3d 992) (April 28, 2009) (Judge Michael Daly Hawkins) by In a forceful decision with potentially far reaching consequences, a panel from the Ninth Circuit dealt a huge blow to the claims of both the Bush Administration and the Obama …

Imbler v. Pachtman, No. 74-5435 (U.S. Supreme Court) (424 U.S. 409; 96 S.Ct. 984) (March 2, 1976) (Justice Powell)

Article • February 10, 2009

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified

Imbler v. Pachtman, No. 74-5435 (U.S. Supreme Court) (424 U.S. 409; 96 S.Ct. 984) (March 2, 1976) (Justice Powell) by The question presented in this case was whether a state prosecuting attorney who acted within the scope of his duties in initiating and pursuing a criminal prosecution is amenable to …

Pearson v. Callahan, No. 07-751 (U.S. Supreme Court) (555 U.S. 223; 129 S.Ct. 808) (January 21, 2009) (Justice Alito)

Article • December 1, 2008 • from P&J December, 2008

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified

Pearson v. Callahan, No. 07-751 (U.S. Supreme Court) (555 U.S. 223; 129 S.Ct. 808) (January 21, 2009) (Justice Alito) by Here a uninamous Court shifted the standard for determining whether police officers are entitled to qualified immunity for 4th Amendment violations by reversing precedent and discarding the rigid two-step process …

Moore v. Andreno, No. 06-3623-cv(L) (2nd Cir.) (505 F.3d 203) (October 22, 2007) (Judge John M. Jr. Walker)

Article • December 1, 2007 • from P&J December, 2007

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified

Moore v. Andreno, No. 06-3623-cv(L) (2nd Cir.) (505 F.3d 203) (October 22, 2007) (Judge John M. Jr. Walker) by For a summary of this decision, see "2nd Circuit Finds Deputies Immune From Suit for Bad Search," by Mark Hamblett, New York Law Journal, Oct. 25, 2007, as follows: "Uncertainty over …