Recently in Civil Rights Law Category

It has been roughly 1,900 exhausting days since John Coleman, a researcher and author, filed his Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request with the Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”). Under FOIA, departments have twenty days to respond to requests, plus a ten day extension for cause.

Coleman is still waiting. And after 1,900 or so days, he may still have to pay for the photocopies.

Coleman filed his initial request in February 2008, seeking information concerning the government’s regulation of the drug carisoprodol (a muscle relaxant also known as Soma). Carisoprodol became a Schedule IV controlled substance in 2011.

Last month, we brought you the tale of attempted sodomizer and legal pioneer William MacDonald. Old MacDonald, at age 47, requested oral sex from a 17-year-old girl, then accused her of rape after she denied his advances. He was convicted under Virginia's "Crimes Against Nature" anti-sodomy statute. To recap, that statute reads:

If any person ... carnally knows any male or female person by the anus or by or with the mouth, or voluntarily submits to such carnal knowledge, he or she shall be guilty of a [felony.]

Obvious proposition of the day: students have less rights when in school. For example, their Fourth Amendment rights are curtailed to the extent that separating them from their belongings and having drug dogs sniff around is permissible. There is also a line of cases, across the circuits, that allow some restrictions on free speech.

Here's another one.

Candice Hardwick, a Caucasian female who formerly attended middle and high school in Latta, South Carolina. She's quite proud of her Southern heritage and chose to express that pride by wearing shirts depicting the Confederate Battle Flag, which is the infamous flag that we've all seen plastered onto a dirty pickup truck at some time or another.

Maryland has a need for public safety measures. There's a reason some people call it "Balti-murder" after all. Of course, the means chosen to achieve that public interest must survive intermediate scrutiny by having a fit that is "reasonable, not perfect."

Do the means fit the need? The state's justifications include:

Thursday was not a great day for Alan Gura and the Second Amendment Foundation. The Fourth Circuit eviscerated a lower court opinion, refused to delineate the bounds of the Second Amendment, and approved a "may issue" concealed carry law in Maryland. The lower court had held that the right to bear arms extends outside of one's home and that a "good-and-substantial reason" requirement for concealed carry permits was an unconstitutional burden on that right.

Before we get to the case, however, can we all take a moment to appreciate the development of an entire body of law, right in front of our eyes? Maybe its just us, but how many chances will lawyers have to shape the entire jurisprudence of a Constitutional guarantee in their lifetimes?

Gender Identity Disorder (“GID”) is characterized by a feeling of being trapped in the body of the wrong gender. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health prescribes a “triadic treatment sequence” comprised of hormone therapy, real-life experience of living as a member of the opposite sex, and if the dysphoria persists after one year of treatment, sex reassignment surgery.

Ophelia Azriel De’lonta, born Michael A. Stokes, is currently serving a lengthy sentence in a Virginia prison. She suffers from GID and sued the Virginia Department of Corrections in 1999 for withholding treatment. After the Fourth Circuit stepped in, the case settled in 2004 after VDOC agreed to provide counseling, hormone therapy and to allow De’lonta to cross-dress to the extent allowed in an incarcerated context.

A man removes his clothing at a security checkpoint to reveal the text of the Fourth Amendment painted on his chest. Some might applaud his peaceful protest. Others were probably irritated by the delay in getting to their flights. The Transportation Security Administration certainly wasn’t amused - they called the police and had the protestor arrested by airport police.

Though the disorderly conduct charges were later dropped, and Aaron Tobey made his flight, he still filed a lawsuit alleging violations of his First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights, as well as a Bivens claim, due to the hour or so that he spent in custody being interrogated by law enforcement and airport security.

A guy wants a pistol. His nephew gets a law enforcement discount, so he gives the nephew the money to purchase the gun. The pistol is then legally transferred to the uncle, saving that uncle money.

The nephew is later charged with multiple federal crimes. The Fourth Circuit upheld his punishment earlier this week.

What were the crimes?

D.L. was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and anxiety. He is a student at a private Yeshiva seeking special education services. Because Maryland does not allow dual-enrollment in private and public schools, his parents are seeking to have the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners provide these services either part-time at the public school, or at his Yeshiva.

D.L. is eligible for these services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires public school districts to make a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) available to each special needs student in the district. As long as a FAPE is made available, the district will not have to pay for a private education.

We’re (mostly) all lawyers, but we’re not all gun buyers. In order to fully understand this case, it might help to have some information on interstate gun purchases and Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs). In order to purchase a handgun from another state, it has to be shipped to a dealer holding a valid FFL. That FLL holder then charges their own fee, which typically includes state and local fees as well.

This FFL requirement is the heart of the Lane v. Holder dispute that was decided by the Fourth Circuit on New Year’s Eve. There were three plaintiffs seeking an injunction to stop enforcement of FFL regulations: