Recently in Civil Rights Law Category

Most people want to avoid prison, and rightly so. Despite the abundance of reading time, it’s crowded, the food’s terrible, and it’s fairly stressful to live knowing that you could be shanked at any second for looking at someone the wrong way in the prison yard.

Not to mention the complete loss of personal freedom.

There are three cases over the last two years that make observers extra-nervous about prison conditions in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ states: Duvall v. Dallas County, Waganfeald v. Gusman, and Depriest v. Epps. Let’s go through these case-by-case, and discuss why you should keep fighting to keep your clients out of prison.

A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals restored funding to Texas Planned Parenthood clinics on Friday, finding that there's sufficient evidence that a state law preventing Planned Parenthood from participating in the Women's Health Program is unconstitutional, reports The Associated Press.

The decision reinstates Judge Lee Yeakel's injunction pending a trial in the matter.

Texas Planned Parenthood clinics will be short on money while federal courts debate the constitutionality of a state law that cuts funding to the program.

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jerry Smith -- currently the judicial branch's most famous proponent of judicial review -- stayed an injunction this week that would have restored Planned Parenthood funding, reports The Austin Chronicle.

Citizens have a Second Amendment right to bear arms in a visceral sense. According to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Second Amendment does not extend to a right to bear a specific arm, reports The Wall Street Journal.

This week, the New Orleans-based court ruled that the Crescent City's police did not violate a man's Second Amendment rights by keeping his lawfully-seized gun after the district attorney refused charges against him.

Until recently, Holly Springs, Miss.'s claim to fame was Graceland Too, Paul MacLeod's home-turned-Elvis-museum where you can view memorabilia and learn obscure Elvis facts 24/7.

Now, Holly Springs has the unusual distinction of being an anti-church city in the Bible Belt. And soon, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals could consider whether a city zoning ordinance that applies a more-restrictive set of requirements to churches seeking zoning approval violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and the U.S. Constitution.

Until the 24-hour news stations ratchet up the individual mandate discussions before the Affordable Care Act arguments in March, the university affirmative action review will be the talk of the legal community.

Last week, the Supreme Court voted to review Fisher v. University of Texas, a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding a race-based admissions policy at the University of Texas (UT). Now, the Internet is buzzing with questions over whether the Nine will end university affirmative action 14 years before the soft deadline retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor set in her 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger opinion.

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judge Jerry Smith indicated yesterday that the Texas primary election scheduled for April 3 will likely be delayed because the Texas redistricting map conflict has not been resolved, reports The New York Times. While a new date has not been set, the court asked the Democratic and Republican parties to propose new candidate filing periods for a May 29 primary.

As the primary date continues to move, Texas could either become a kingmaker, or completely irrelevant in the Republican nominating process.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment in favor of a Texas city this week, finding that a police officer's use of deadly force against an armed, suicidal teenager did not amount to excessive force.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied en banc rehearing this morning in the Texas sonogram bill lawsuit, reports The Washington Post.

The Texas sonogram law, which became effective this week over the protestations of U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, requires a doctor to perform a sonogram on a woman requesting an abortion at least 24 hours before the procedure, describe the unborn child, and list agencies that offer alternatives to abortion.

There are approximately 80,000 abortions in Texas each year, according to the Houston Chronicle. With this week’s implementation of the new Texas sonogram law, there will be approximately 80,000 additional sonograms in the state.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks’ temporary order blocking enforcement of Texas H.B. 15, last month after deciding that the law would likely survive constitutional review in a federal district court.