Can Silence Be Bought as Part of a Settlement of a Use of Force Claim?
7/30/19
By: Jake Loken
Can silence be bought, especially of those who claim excessive use of force? The City of Baltimore thought so, until the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals said otherwise.
In Overbey v. Mayor of Balt., No. 17-2444 …
Sovereign Immunity Finally Bars $10.6 Million Judgment Against City of Albany
4/30/19
By: Wes Jackson
Following up on our recent blog post highlighting the Georgia Court of Appeals’ decision to reverse a $10.6 million trial verdict against the City of Albany on sovereign immunity grounds, we are pleased to announce that the …
McKinney Due Process Analysis Alive and Well in the Eleventh Circuit
4/9/19
By: Dana Maine
This will be a short blog: “The question before us is whether a litigant in this Circuit has a substantive-due-process claim under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment when the alleged conduct is the unlawful …
Split in the Circuits May Force SCOTUS to Revisit Kingsley
3/14/19
By: Ali Sabzevari
In Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 135 S. Ct. 2466 (2015), the Supreme Court held that a pretrial detainee may prevail on a § 1983 excessive force claim if he or she shows that the force used was …
Phony Fakes Fall (Allegedly)
2/15/19
By: Kevin Stone
The fictional Mike Moffitt famously called Jerry Seinfeld a phony. The reasons remain unknown. A non-fictional New Jersey man, however, appears to be a bona fide phony. Surveillance video of a company breakroom appears to capture the …
Can Governments be Liable for Mass Shootings under the Constitution?
2/11/19
By: Phil Savrin
The recent tragedies of mass shootings have spawned litigation over the civil liabilities of state governments for failing to protect members of the public from harm, particularly when there were advance warning signs that police departments overlooked …
Can You Even Do That? What Happens When a Judge is Sued and the Defense of Absolute Judicial Immunity is Raised
2/6/19
By: Jake Loken
It is a rare sight to see a judge being sued, so what happens when one is? The process is generally the same as any other lawsuit, but one important doctrine can get in the way: absolute …
School Shootings: Is There a Constitutional Duty to Protect Students?
1/16/19
By: Jake Daly
Sadly, our nation’s schools are not free from shootings and other violent crimes. When such crimes occur on private property, the laws of many states provide the victims a remedy (money damages) against the owner of the …
“Sanctuary Cities” Get a Reprieve For Now
1/10/19
By: Pamela Everett
As many city, county and state attorneys are aware, in 2017 the US. Department of Justice (DOJ) added three conditions to the application process for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (“Byrne JAG”) program in an …
Department of Education Proposes New Title IX Regulations Regarding Proper Response To Complaints of Sexual Misconduct
12/21/18
By: Bill Buechner
The Department of Education (“DOE”) recently issued proposed regulations regarding how elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education should respond to complaints of sexual harassment and sexual assault. As a whole, the proposed regulations seek …
Supreme Court Revisits Interplay Between First and Fourth Amendments
11/29/18
By: Wes Jackson
Imagine you commit a minor crime and an officer approaches you. The interaction goes south when you call the officer a “pig” and remind him that your tax dollars pay his salary. He then arrests you. Were …
An Examination of the Interpretation of Free Recreation
10/15/18
By: Kevin Stone
In Georgia, if property is open free of charge for recreational purposes, the landowner is normally immune from liability for injuries occurring on the property. A court can decide this as a matter of law without sending …