Posted 30 Jun 2021 in Case Notes Written by: Amanda Karras

In a per curiam decision, the Supreme Court summarily reversed the Eighth Circuit’s grant of qualified immunity in Lombardo v. City of St. Louis.  While the majority’s decision to reverse left a lot to still be decided, the case may be indicative of the Supreme Court’s attempt to signal to lower courts that qualified immunity is less protective than some courts are currently applying it.  Alternatively, perhaps Justice Alito is right in his dissent that the majority did not want...

Posted 29 Jun 2021 in Case Notes Written by: Amanda Karras

In Pakdel v. City & County of San Francisco, the Supreme Court held the Ninth Circuit erred when it required the petitioners who had alleged a regulatory taking to comply with the agency’s administrative procedures for seeking relief because it is a “settled rule” that “exhaustion of state remedies is not a prerequisite to an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.”  quoting Knick v. Township of Scott, 588 U.S. __ (2019) (emphasis in original).  In what could end up as...

Posted 28 Jun 2021 in Commentary Written by: Christopher Forte

When I was asked to write an article discussing the concept of Pride and what it means, it was quite honestly a daunting task.  I was confronted with a sizeable dose of imposter syndrome, because as the Assistant General Counsel for the City of Middletown, Connecticut—who only recently stepped into the shoes of Pride organizer—I acknowledge that there are (and have been) so many LGBTQIA+ activists and non-profit organizations locally, statewide, and across the country, who have been in the...

Posted 24 Jun 2021 in Case Notes Written by: Amanda Karras

In a 6-3 opinion the Supreme Court, likening the protection of property rights to the preservation of freedom, held in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid that a California regulation that provided union organizers access to agricultural employers’ property for up to three hours per day, 120 days per year, was a per se physical taking under the Fifth Amendment.  While the case was a loss for the State, looming larger in the case was the question of how the decision...

Posted 22 Jun 2021 in Commentary Written by: Erich Eiselt

Fifty-two years ago, just after midnight on June 28, 1969, eight officers with New York’s now-defunct Public Morals Squad descended on 53 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village.  Their target was the Stonewall Inn, a well-known gay bar and safe haven for the LGBTQIA+ community.  The infraction which brought them was an alleged violation of liquor laws.  More than 200 patrons were lined up, required to produce identification, subjected to anti-gay slurs, and needlessly subjected to force. Police raids in gay bars were...

Posted 25 May 2021 in Case Notes Written by: Erich Eiselt

Purdue Bankruptcy: Disclosure Statement Hearing May 26, 2021; Public May Dial-In-The much-debated Purdue Bankruptcy Disclosure Statement, which includes the controversial $4.3 Billion from Sackler family shareholders in exchange for complete releases of any liability for the opioid crisis, and which is opposed by Attorneys General from 24 states and the District of Columbia, will be considered by Judge Drain at a hearing tomorrow, May 26, 2021, at 9:00 AM.  As the Primeclerk website (https://restructuring.primeclerk.com/purduepharma) states: Members of the public who wish...

Posted 20 May 2021 in Commentary Written by: Deanna Shahnami

Since 1991, every United States President has officially recognized and designated May as Asian/Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.  May is also Asian Heritage Month in Canada.[i]  Americans and Canadians have a shared purpose this month for celebrating and recognizing the achievements and contributions made by attorneys, among others, of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage. In the U.S. alone, 5.2 % of all 2020 employed lawyers were Asian.[ii]  For local government attorneys, IMLA is committed to providing our members with valuable DEI...

Posted 17 May 2021 in Case Notes, Commentary Written by: Amanda Karras

Today in a unanimous, but narrow opinion, the Supreme Court struck down the First Circuit’s expansion of the exception to the warrant requirement known as the “community care-taking doctrine” from automobiles to the home.  The Court left open the possibility that exigent circumstances might justify a search without a warrant under these circumstances, but that issue was not before the Court in this case. In this case, Kim Caniglia and her husband got in a fight during which he went and...

Posted 14 May 2021 in Commentary Written by: Chris Ritter, MEd, JD

  Defining the Issues While there are a large number of hardships faced by attorneys practicing law, the following are some of the most common and most serious: A. Anxiety Disorders. Disorders relating to anxiety range from a general Panic Attack (which is Panic Disorder with or without Agoraphobia[i]) to specific phobias such as Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Substance-Induced Anxiety Disorder, anxiety due to a medical condition, and anxiety...

Posted 05 May 2021 in Commentary Written by: Deanna Shahnami & Elsa I. Jaramillo-Velez

U.S. Legal System – Federal, State, and Local Structure (Spanish and English versions below)  |  (Versiones en español e inglés a continuación) A legal system that is over 200 years old has not aged much in its structure since its creation.  The U.S. Constitution delegates powers to the federal government—national government—and what powers are not delegated to the federal government are left with the states.  Currently, 50 states and five territories comprise the United States of America.[1] The U.S. Constitution established three...