Clearing the Hurdle of Proving a “Clearly Established” Right to Overcome Qualified Immunity

In Molina v. City of St. Louis, two lawyers distantly and passively observed the police response to a protest that erupted in response to a white St. Louis police officer’s shooting and killing of a Black teenager. After police officers launched a tear gas cannister near them, the lawyers filed suit against the officers, alleging that the officers retaliated against them for exercising their First Amendment rights.

A Tale of Two Statues: Constitutional Issues in Closing a Limited Public Forum

A city in Minnesota decided to create a limited public forum in a park.  Applicants could obtain a permit from the city in order to place a monument in the park.  Two of these permits were issued, but the city voted to close the limited public forum just a few months later.  This raised questions as to the purpose behind closing the limited public forum and whether the city violated the First Amendment.

Eighth Circuit Narrows the Nieves Exception for First Amendment Retaliation Claims

In Murphy v. Schmitt, Officer Michael Schmitt stopped Mason Murphy for walking on the wrong side of the highway.  Murphy refused to identify himself, and the two men argued for several minutes before Schmitt arrested Murphy for failing to identify himself.  Murphy argued that he was arrested in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment right to freedom of speech in a suit for First Amendment retaliation and unlawful detention.  The district court granted Schmitt’s motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity, and Murphy appealed to the Eighth Circuit. In a majority decision, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision.