On April 16, 2019, the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion in Bourne v. Gunnels. Two issues addressed by the court were (i) whether Bourne’s excessive force claim was barred by the Heck v. Humphrey doctrine and (ii) whether the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity. We previously wrote about Heck here. In summary, Heck bars [..]
We previously wrote here about the defense of qualified immunity to a Section 1983 claim for violation of civil rights. On April 16, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion in Ramirez v. Escajeda. In that opinion, the court addressed the question of whether and to what extent [..]
Restoration of voting rights This article is about restoration of voting rights. Previously we discussed gun rights here. This is about your right to vote after you have been convicted of a crime. Without going into a history lesson, the United States Constitution did not originally guarantee a right to vote. Although amendments and Court [..]
Restoration of Rights – how do I go about it? Previously on this blog, we discussed expunging a criminal record here. There are many convictions that cannot be expunged, mostly felonies. However, you would like to defend yourself and your family. You would also like to hunt, or teach your children to hunt. In Mississippi, [..]
DUI First Offense First, always talk to an attorney about defenses to accusations of drunk driving. That is all they are – accusations. You may have a great legal defense, which will take you hiring an attorney who can work on your case. The case may require a trial, and even an appeal. There is [..]
When a plaintiff sues a law enforcement officer for a violation of constitutional rights, the officer will almost always raise a defense called qualified immunity. On March 8, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit handed down its decision in Moon v. Meachum. In its opinion, the court addressed the qualified [..]
Mississippi Civil Asset Forfeiture – The United States Supreme Court’s Recent Opinion Mississippi is one of four states that does not recognize that the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution applies to the states. As the result of a new decision by the United States Constitution, that will change. [..]
On March 11, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion in Ulrich v. City of Shreveport, et al., involving a claim for false arrest. The facts of the case A detective in the Shreveport Police Department swore out an affidavit stating that Ulrich had committed battery. After investigation, [..]
On February 14, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit handed down its revised opinion in Johnson v. Halstead. The case involved a claim by Johnson, a black male, that he had been subjected to a hostile work environment based on his race. Specifically, Johnson was a sergeant with the Fort [..]
A new decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit touches upon, but does not decide, whether Title VII prohibits discrimination against transgender individuals. We have written here before about the federal law known as Title VII that prohibits discrimination based on “race, color, religion, sex and national origin.” When originally [..]
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