Qualified immunity for Arrest with failed sobriety test and negative breathalyzer
Facts In August 2015, Francis G. “Buddy” Allemang was fifty-five years old and had recently suffered spinal injuries. Allemang had received medical treatment, including injections and various neck and back surgeries, for the pain associated with these injuries. He would be deemed disabled by a Social Security physician two years later in 2017. But on […]
$100 deduction from inmate’s account for medical costs was proper
Facts In 2017, Pamela Pace, the Michael Unit practice manager at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division (“TDCJ”) authorized a deduction of $100 from inmate Richard Simons’s account. The deduction was made to pay an annual medical co-pay fee. Simons believed this withdrawal and other related withdrawals were improper because the funds […]
Prison communication policy does not violate first amendment
Facts Richard Dunsmore was involuntarily consigned to the Texas Civil Commitment Center in Littlefield, Texas, as a Sexually Violent Predator. On February 5, 2021, he filed a pro se complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Director of the Texas Civil Commitment Office (TCCO), Marsha McLane, and other TCCO employees. Dunsmore later amended his […]
Wife’s consent for home valid when subject objecting after he is arrested and in police car
Facts Orentha James Pea was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment after being convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). On appeal, he contends that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized from his estranged wife’s residence. Specifically, he claims […]
Deliberate two step strategy to circumvent Miranda not used here
Facts Law enforcement officers suspected that Christopher Taing was involved in a drug trafficking operation in Midland, Texas. Officer Joseph Beltran and DEA Special Agent Jaye Johnson followed Taing as he drove away from a suspected drug transaction and then parked in a hotel parking lot. They followed him through the lobby and into the […]
officials acting under prison policy are essentially following orders and so they do not violate clearly established law unless those orders are facially outrageous
Facts Rene Michelle Taylor is a former Texas inmate and practicing Muslim. For decades she wore a hijab that covered her hair, ears, and chest. The parties do not dispute that Taylor sincerely believed she needed to wear such a hijab. In 2012 the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) promulgated a system-wide policy regulating hijab […]