Even though an Alabama state university registered as a nonprofit corporation in North Carolina, and even though all of the actions that plaintiff complains of occurred in North Carolina, under Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, 203 L.Ed.2d ...
Read More »Constitutional – Interstate Sovereign Immunity – Alabama University – Equal Protection Claim
Constitutional – Wrong standard applied to issue of care for detained immigrant youth 
Where unaccompanied immigrant children detained by the government alleged they were not receiving a constitutionally adequate level of mental health counseling, the proper standard was whether the care substantially departed from accepted professional standards. Background Appellants are a class of ...
Read More »Constitutional – Prison must provide deaf inmate with access to video calls 
Where the record showed that a deaf inmate could not communicate in writing because of his lack of English proficiency, that point-to-point videophone calls would not have a “ripple effect” on fellow inmates or prison staff, and that the prison ...
Read More »Constitutional – State Settlement Agreement – Statutory Amendment – Appeals 
During the plaintiff-school board’s appeal of the trial court’s ruling—rejecting the school board’s claim that funds paid by hog producing companies pursuant to an agreement (the Agreement) with the Attorney General were penalties required to be turned over to ...
Read More »Constitutional – Importing prior discriminatory intent to new voting law was error 
Although North Carolina previously acted with racially discriminatory intent in enacting a 2013 omnibus voting law that included voter-ID requirement, it was error to assume that same intent influenced the passage of the state’s 2018 voter-ID law. Background This case ...
Read More »Constitutional – Short-term aerial surveillance allowed to continue 
Where Baltimore’s short-term aerial surveillance program does not target particular individuals or violate a reasonable expectation of privacy, and seeks to meet a serious law enforcement need without burdening constitutional rights, the denial of community activists’ request for a preliminary ...
Read More »Constitutional – N.C. absentee ballot deadline not extended 
Where parties challenging the North Carolina State Board of Elections’ decision to extend the deadline for receipt of mail-in ballots failed to demonstrate they were likely to succeed on the merits of their Equal Protection or Elections Clause arguments, the ...
Read More »Constitutional – South Carolina absentee ballot case before full Fourth Circuit 
After the district court stayed a South Carolina witness requirement for mail-in absentee ballots and a panel of the Fourth Circuit stayed the injunction pending appeal, the full Fourth Circuit granted rehearing en banc and vacated the panel’s stay. Background A majority ...
Read More »Constitutional – South Carolina absentee ballot witness requirements stayed 
South Carolina’s witness requirement for absentee ballots is once again stayed after a majority of judges on the Fourth Circuit refused to upset the district court order enjoining the requirement. A three-judge panel initially stayed the district court’s order, but ...
Read More »Constitutional – No en banc rehearing in transgender bathroom case 
A majority of the judges concurred in denying an en banc rehearing of a decision finding the school board violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause by requiring students to use bathrooms matching their “biological gender” and refusing to ...
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