Weekly Opinion Summaries for Constitutional Law

U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, April 24, 2007
Ruiz-Rosa v. Rivera-Gonzalez, No. 06-1761
In a suit alleging violations of the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 and medical malpractice under Puerto Rico law after the death of a prison inmate, the judgment of the district court is affirmed where the part of the district court's decision that dismissed plaintiff's claim as a sanction was harmless error since summary judgment was appropriately granted in the alternative given the absence of a genuine issue of material fact regarding the defendants' deliberate indifference to the deceased's serious medical needs. Read more...

U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, April 24, 2007
Torres-Martinez v. Puerto Rico Dep't of Corr., No. 06-1881
In a suit involving political discrimination and Fourteenth Amendment claims against a government employer, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) the slight narrowing of employment duties does not constitute an adverse employment decision; and 2) public employees have no property interest in their job duties, therefore the agency did not deny plaintiff due process. Read more...

U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 24, 2007
Staley v. Harris County, No. 04-20667
In a case raising the question of whether the display of a Bible in a monument dedicated to a philanthropic citizen and located on the grounds of a county Civil Courthouse violated the Establishment Clause, an appeal from a judgment ordering the Bible removed is dismissed as moot where, days before oral argument in the en banc matter, the monument was placed in storage indefinitely and was no longer available for public viewing. Additionally, the county failed to show that it was entitled to the equitable relief of vacatur and the matter is remanded for an attorney's fees determination. Read more...

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 27, 2007
Allison v. City of E. Lansing, No. 06-1173
In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suit brought by university employees alleging Fourth Amendment violations that occurred during a city fire department's response to a possible anthrax contamination at a university, city's appeal from a jury verdict in favor of plaintiffs is dismissed where the city failed to move for judgment as a matter of law post-verdict as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 50(b), and thus, the appellate court was without jurisdiction to consider the merits its claim. Read more...

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 23, 2007
Jenkins v. Bartlett, No. 06-2495
In an excessive force suit under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 brought against a police officer, a municipality and the chief of police, verdict for defendant-officer and summary judgment for the city and the chief of police are affirmed over plaintiff's arguments that: 1) the district court erred when it allowed physicians to testify as expert witnesses because the defendants had failed to provide an expert report that satisfied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B); 2) the physicians' testimony did not satisfy the Daubert standard under Federal Rule of Evidence 702; 3) the district court erred when it sustained the officer's claim of attorney-client privilege despite a third-party's presence during conversations; and 4) the city displayed deliberate indifference when training officers on the use of force against suspects in vehicles. Read more...

U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 24, 2007
Hawkeye Commodity Promotions, Inc. v. Vilsack, No. 06-2406
In a constitutional challenge to Iowa legislation ending the TouchPlay lottery game, district court's rejection of the challenge is affirmed over: 1) a claim that the district court should have admitted the deposition testimony of the president of the Iowa Lottery Authority, and 2) reiterated Contracts, Takings, Equal Protection, and Due Process challenges. Read more...

U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 24, 2007
Reeves v. Churchich, No. 04-4240
In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 case arising from circumstances in which police officers were attempting to apprehend a domestic violence suspect and allegedly pointed their weapons at the suspect's neighbors and prevented them from leaving, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where the district court correctly found that defendants were entitled to qualified immunity as their conduct and actions did not violate plaintiffs' constitutional rights, and that there was no supervisor liability. Read more...

U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 24, 2007
Zwygart v. Bd. of County Comm'rs of Jefferson County, No. 06-3084
In a suit brought by a former employee alleging that a county's actions in terminating him following open heart surgery violated his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)and the Due Process Clause, summary judgment for the county is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff failed to introduce evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that he was disabled under the ADA; and 2) he failed to establish he had a protected property interest in his continued employment because he expressly agreed in a contract that his "immediate termination" would result from taking leave without pay, and the county did not waive its rights. Read more...

U.S. D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, April 27, 2007
John Doe Inc v. DEA, No. 06-1270
Respondent's denial of a permit to import for bioequivalency testing a generic version of an FDA-approved drug is affirmed over claims that: 1) the permit denial is contrary to law, arbitrary and capricious, and violative of the Fifth Amendment; and 2) the district court erred in dismissing the complaint for lack of jurisdiction. Read more...

Supreme Court of California, April 26, 2007
Balboa Island Village Inn, Inc. v. Lemen, No. S127904
Following a trial at which it is determined that the defendant defamed the plaintiff, the court may issue an injunction prohibiting the defendant from repeating the statements determined to be defamatory. In a dispute raising defamation claims in which a permanent injunction was issued following trial prohibiting defendant-neighbor from repeating defamatory statements about plaintiff-inn, a court of appeals judgment reversing the injunction in part is affirmed as the injunction was overly broad, but it is clarified that a properly limited injunction prohibiting defendant from repeating statements about plaintiff that were determined at trial to be defamatory would not violate defendant's right to free speech. Read more...

Supreme Court of Texas, April 27, 2007
VanDevender v. Woods, No. 05-0956
In an action seeking a declaratory judgment that a county and its sheriff violated the state constitution by failing to pay his full salary during his second term as a deputy sheriff after he became disabled, a court of appeals ruling affirming a take-nothing judgment against plaintiff is vacated where the court of appeals should not have reached the ultimate constitutional question of whether the constitution's full-pay entitlement extends into an officer's subsequent term of office, without first reviewing whether plaintiff's incapacity resulted from a job-related injury, a precondition to receiving continued salary. Read more...

California Appellate Districts, April 25, 2007
Castillo v. Pacheco, No. B188991
In suit alleging nuisance in the form of large ceremonial outdoor open fires being held in defendants' backyard, denial of anti-SLAPP motion seeking to strike complaint is affirmed as the anti-SLAPP statute does not provide a vehicle for early scrutiny of a cause of action against a person arising from an act of that person in furtherance of the person’s right of free exercise of religion. Read more...

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