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Monday Morning Review: Local Governments in the Federal Appellate Courts

Posted in Monday Morning Review on August 27, 2014 By Kira Klatchko

Apologies that this edition is delayed. I was tied up with a significant filing for the past week. The courts were busy too. Here are the last two weeks’ published decisions involving local governments:

First Circuit

Penn v. Escorsio, No. 13-2309 (Aug. 22, 2014): The court affirmed the district court’s denial of qualified immunity at the summary judgment stage to corrections officers alleged to be deliberately indifferent to risk that detainee could commit suicide. The court found that the issues presented on appeal were purely factual, and the court had no jurisdiction to decide them on interlocutory appeal.

Second Circuit Continue reading →

Supreme Court To Decide If Local Government’s Decision Is “In Writing”

Posted in Case Notes on May 5, 2014 By Kira Klatchko

In addition to addressing local-government prayer this morning, the Supreme Court also decided to hear and answer another question impacting local governments: when a city denies a request to place a cell tower, how formally must it act?

The Court granted cert in T-Mobile South, LLC v. City of Roswell, No. 13-975, which specifically asks what a local government must do to satisfy the Communications Act’s “in writing” requirement at 47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(iii):

Any decision by a State or local government or instrumentality thereof to deny a request to place, construct, or modify personal wireless service facilities shall be in writing and supported by substantial evidence contained in a written record

As the Eleventh Circuit explained in its decision, some circuit courts have ruled Continue reading →

Monday Morning Review: Local Governments in the Federal Appellate Courts

Posted in Monday Morning Review on April 7, 2014 By Kira Klatchko

Here are last week’s published decisions involving local governments:

Second Circuit

The Bronx Household of Faith v. Bd. of Educ. of the City of New York, No. 12-2730 (Apr. 3, 2014) (reversing district court’s decision and ruling that school may refuse to allow its facilities to be used for religious worship). See this post from Evan Seeman and Dwight Merriam at the RLUIPA Defense blog.
T.M. v. Cornwall Central School District, No. 12-4301 (Apr. 2, 2014) (finding that district court erred as a matter of law in concluding that the school district was not required under the Individuals with Disabilties Education Act to offer student a mainstream extended school year program simply because it does not offer such a program.).

Fourth Circuit

EEOC v. Baltimore County, No. 13-1106 (Mar. 31, 2014) (finding that county retirement plan unlawfully Continue reading →