An unsuccessful candidate for county sheriff sufficiently stated claims for malicious prosecution by a commonwealth’s attorney and a state police officer. The plaintiff said they conspired to prosecute him for election fraud with no evidence to support the charge. Background ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Elections Judge John A. Gibney Jr. Municipal Search & Seizure Tort U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An involuntarily committed man who suffered from bipolar personality disorder was unreasonably denied necessary therapy, unlawfully restrained due to a nurse’s false report that he’d attacked her, and subjected to multiple severe assaults by another patient who acted at the ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

High school staff failed to timely respond to parents’ requests for disability testing, but an administrative fact finder reasonably concluded that the student’s poor scholastic record was caused by his frequent absences and disdain for teachers, not the violation. Background ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Civil Rights Education Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

A patient who claimed he was denied recommended mental health treatment, beaten by another patient and unreasonably restrained at a state hospital won both compensatory and punitive damages against a doctor and a nurse – both state employees – in ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In a multi-plaintiff race discrimination suit against a state agency, the court said an attempt to “streamline” the original complaint did just the opposite, finding that plaintiff-by-plaintiff presentation of allegations was repetitive and too many claims relied on “information and ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Civil Rights Employment Employment Discrimination Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A regional jail authority is preliminarily enjoined from confiscating publications mailed to inmates by the Human Rights Defense Center. The policy banning delivery of such publications is not rationally related to any legitimate purpose identified by the defendants. Background Plaintiff ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional First Amendment Judge James P. Jones Prisons & Jails U.S. District Court - Western District

In 1871, Congress passed a law “directed at the organized terrorism in the Reconstruction South,” now codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1985. Over 140 years later, the Ku Klux Klan, various neo-Nazi organizations, and associated white supremacists rallied in Charlottesville. ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional Federal Jurisdiction First Amendment Judge Norman K. Moon Second Amendment Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

Fired the day after asking for grievance paperwork, a black employee reasonably believed she was subject to a hostile work environment that was attributable to her employer. The district court erred in granting summary judgment against her. Background In August ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Rights Employment Employment Discrimination Judge Roger L. Gregory Municipal

Genuine factual disputes remained as to whether a former university contract employee suffered pay discrimination. A male comparator with essentially equal duties received a significantly greater starting salary. Background In the fall of 2012, University of Virginia President Sullivan developed ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Employment Employment Discrimination Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

An employee who was required to switch branches after reporting her pregnancy plausibly alleged an adverse employment action, noting that the transfer added time to her commute and interfered with her ability to put her school-aged children on the bus. ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Employment Employment Discrimination Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon U.S. District Court - Western District