Displaying the middle finger to a police officer was an insufficient reason for a vehicle stop, and where no other lawful reason for the stop existed, the officer was not entitled to immunity and judgment was entered in the passenger’s ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

A prisoners’ rights group whose First Amendment rights were violated by a jail policy that allowed inmates to receive only preapproved books, and prohibited them from receiving magazines, is entitled to a permanent injunction governing the delivery of publications and ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge James P. Jones U.S. District Court - Western District

A second federal judge in Virginia has concluded that giving the finger to a police officer does not create enough suspicion of trouble to justify a traffic stop. The decision overturns a jury verdict in favor of a Patrick County ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

The Libertarian Party of Maryland’s challenge to the state’s requirement for placing a candidate on the ballot –  the signatures of 10,000 registered Maryland voters collected within two years of the filing date – was properly dismissed. As a matter ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Per Curiam Opinion

There is no First Amendment right of access to juvenile delinquency hearings because such proceedings historically have not been open to the press and public. Overview Norwood, a minor, has been charged with the first-degree murder of his mother and ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Fauquier County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court Judge Melissa N. Cupp

Where the claims and arguments in a death row inmate’s habeas petition did not “fundamentally alter” those previously rejected by the post-conviction court, the district court did not err in rejecting them under a deferential standard of review. A new ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Judge Julius N. Richardson

Citing a First Amendment reporter’s privilege, two Virginia circuit judges have blocked subpoenas seeking information gathered by a Richmond news reporter. One ruling includes written analysis in a two-page order. Both judges held the company seeking the reporter’s information had ...

Tagged with: Constitutional First Amendment Judge Joi Jeter-Taylor Richmond Circuit Court

Where a North Carolina inmate attempting to challenge his capital sentence on the basis of his intellectual disability could not establish that recent Supreme Court decisions applied retroactively to cases on collateral review, his motion seeking authorization to file a ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Per Curiam Opinion

Although a speaker alleging he was limited from speaking at a public hearing had standing to assert a First Amendment claim, because the topics were limited in a reasonable and viewpoint neutral manner, and the behavior was not “chilling,” there ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Ivan D. Davis U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The 6th Amendment gives criminal defendants the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. Lawyers say their clients often fear exercising this right. “There’s a chilling effect on people exercising their 6th Amendment rights, because in ...

Tagged with: Constitutional General Assembly