Recently in Civil Rights Law Category

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction this week against a Pennsylvania school district that said bah-humbug to a fifth-grader who wanted to invite her classmates to a Christmas party.

According to the appellate court, the invites passed the Tinker test because there was "no evidence that distribution of the invitations would threaten a substantial disruption of the school environment or interfere with the rights of others.

Alas, “One Gun” isn’t just a clever nickname.

New Jersey’s One Gun law effectively limits the number of firearms a person can purchase in the Garden State to one per month. The National Rifle Association — along with the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, Inc. and Bob’s Little Sport Shop — challenged that law, arguing that it was pre-empted by federal law and deprived gun buyers of due process.

Last week, a unanimous Third Circuit Court of Appeals panel denied the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction of the law and affirmed the district court’s decision to dismiss the case.

The Steel Valley School District in Pennsylvania pays its teachers pursuant to a salary scale based on their education and years of experience. When the District hired Patrick Connelly, he had had nine years of teaching experience — in Maryland. But working in Maryland is practically the same as not working at all, according to Steel Valley policies: The District credited him with only one year when calculating his starting salary. Other new teachers with similar experience acquired within Pennsylvania — but outside Steel Valley — received at least partial credit for each year they had taught.

This week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the District’s pay policy did not violate the right to interstate travel under the Privileges and Immunities Clause.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a parent who sued a police officer for "forcing" her to accompany her daughter to the hospital did not establish a constitutional right violation.

In 2009, police showed up at Warren and Cheryl James' home after their 15-year-old daughter's friend alerted authorities that the daughter planned to commit suicide by ingesting ibuprofen. When questioned by her parents, the daughter admitted that she had planned to commit suicide, but said that she had changed her mind and had not ingested any pills. Nevertheless, Officer Michael Marshall stated that she had to go to the hospital for an evaluation.

It looks like the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is out of options in its November 6 poll coverage lawsuit.

Thursday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Post-Gazette's challenge to a state law that prevents reporters, and others not involved in voting, from entering polling places.

This week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals delineated the scope of the statutory exceptions to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) statute of limitations.

The appellate court decided that a public school district’s failure to designate a struggling student as disabled did not fall within the misrepresentation or withholding information exceptions to the IDEA statute of limitations.

A Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision could give students pause about studying on long flights.

Nick George filed a civil rights claim against the feds in 2010 after he was stopped by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for carrying Arabic flash cards. Friday, the Philadelphia-based appellate court will hear arguments about whether George’s lawsuit against the federal government should be allowed to proceed.

The National Rifle Association isn’t finished fighting the Wilmington Housing Authority gun ban.

Two residents (represented by NRA attorneys) sued WHA, claiming that the ban on guns in common areas of public housing complexes violated residents’ Second Amendment rights. The plaintiffs argued that the gun ban applied to low-income residents of public housing, and criticized that “wealthier persons who live in another type of government housing, such as the Governor of the State of Delaware, are not deprived of the right to keep and bear arms,” reports WHYY.

"We're not here to demonize 'boobies.'"

Well, that's a relief.

In April, Easton Area School District Attorney John Freund told the Third Circuit Court of Appeals that two middle school students' "I (Heart) Boobies" bracelets -- promoting breast cancer awareness -- were disruptive, even if they weren't actually lewd. The ACLU claimed that the First Amendment protected the students' decision to wear the bracelets, and that their message should be analyzed in the context of the national breast cancer awareness campaign, reports the Student Press Law Center.

If you watched the 2004 Super Bowl, then you know where the word “wardrobe malfunction” came from. Friday, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal involving that wardrobe malfunction, reports Reuters.

Last April, the Federal Communications Commission filed a writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court, requesting the high court to review the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision that the FCC-imposed sanctions on CBS were improper.