Chicago-Kent College of Law

Follow:

Chicago-Kent College of Law Blogs

Nahmod Law

Blog Authors

Sheldon Nahmod

Latest from Chicago-Kent College of Law

blank-15.jpg
The Eighth Amendment The Eighth Amendment declares: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Although the Eighth Amendment on its face applies only to the federal government, the Excessive Bail and Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clauses, like many other provisions of the Bill of Rights, have gradually been incorporated and applied to the states and local governments through the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause. But what…
blank-1.jpg
The Supreme Court handed down City of Escondido v. Emmons, No. 17-1660 (per curiam), on January 7, 2019. In this qualified immunity excessive force case, the Court summarily reversed and once more chastised the Ninth Circuit for making the clearly settled law inquiry at too high a level of generality. What courts must instead do, the Court emphasized, is focus on the particular circumstances of the case and make the clearly settled law inquiry accordingly.…
blank-2.jpg
As I mentioned in an earlier save-the-date post, the 36th Annual Conference on Section 1983 will be held at Chicago-Kent College on Law on Thursday and Friday, April 11-12, 2019. This Conference is an outstanding value and is suitable for both newcomers to the field and experienced attorneys. Many aspects of section 1983 doctrine and practice will be expertly covered, including attorney’s fees, together with Equal Protection, the Religion Clauses and pending Supreme Court cases.…
blank-10.jpg
Boler v. Earley, 865 F.3d 391 (6th Cir. 2017), is a significant Sixth Circuit case involving the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. secs. 300g-1 et seq (SDWA). It arose out of the disturbing and infamous events involving the contaminated drinking water of residents of Flint, Michigan. The plaintiffs were residents of Flint, Michigan, who were adversely affected by water contamination. They sued various state and local officials and entities under section 1983 alleging substantive due…
blank-6.jpg
It’s not easy being a section 1983 plaintiff in federal court. There are many procedural hurdles facing such a section 1983 plaintiff who seeks damages and/or declaratory and injunctive relief. Among these hurdles are justiciability doctrines such as standing and ripeness, various statutory bars such as the Tax Injunction Act, statutes of limitations, claim and issue preclusion, the Eleventh Amendment and various abstention doctrines that amount to an exhaustion of judicial remedies requirement. See generally…
blank-7.jpg
What follows is a link to the Save-the-Date announcement for the forthcoming 36th Annual Section 1983 Conference to be held in Chicago on April 11-12, 2019. This announcement includes registration information. Featured speakers include Karen Blum, Rosalie Levinson, Erwin Chemerinsky, Kimberly Bailey, John Murphey, Gerry Birnberg and me. https://cle.kentlaw.edu/database/PDF/2018Dec21-3937-sec83%20-%20save%20the%20date%20flyer%202019.pdf If you have any questions, please contact either me at snahmod@kentlaw.edu or our CLE department at CLE@kentlaw.iit.edu. Thanks.…
blank-8.jpg
Section 1983 makes actionable violations of “rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution.” This includes not only violations of incorporated provisions of the Bill of Rights such as the First, Second, Fourth and Eighth Amendments but also the Fourteenth Amendment’s stand-alone provisions, the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. As a result of Supreme Court contraceptive, abortion and homosexual sodomy decisions–see Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965); Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113…
blank-7.jpg
Background I posted several times previously on Manuel v. City of Joliet, 137 S. Ct. 911 (2017), an important section 1983 malicious prosecution case that came out of Seventh Circuit and made it to the Supreme Court, which reversed and remanded. My most recent post on Manuel, which can serve as background, is here: https://nahmodlaw.com/2017/05/15/manuel-v-city-of-joliet-the-court-rules-section-1983-malicious-prosecution-claims-can-be-based-on-the-fourth-amendment-but-otherwise-punts/ Recall that after the plaintiff in Manuel was arrested on March 18, 2011, and charged with possessing unlawful drugs, he…
0.jpg
I lectured on the Religion Clauses, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) at the New Mexico State Bar Convention in Ruidoso, New Mexico, in August, 2017. The lecture lasted an hour and nine minutes. It is a good overview and summary and can also serve as a useful introduction, even for non-lawyers, to those who want to become knowledgeable quickly about these topics. Below is…
blank-13.jpg
Local Government Liability Under Section 1983 for Failure to Train or Supervise Police in Excessive Force Cases The Supreme Court ruled almost thirty years ago in City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989), that local governments can be liable under section 1983 for damages for their deliberately indifferent failures to train or supervise their employees who, as a result, commit constitutional violations. Under this standard, there must be a close connection–both in terms…