Christopher Dunn

August 03, 2022 | New York Law Journal

Given the essential role interstate travel may play in the coming abortion battles, a closer examination of the right to travel is in order.

By Christopher Dunn

11 minute read

June 01, 2022 | New York Law Journal

The Supreme Court term that concludes this month has been a dramatic one for civil rights in New York.

By Christopher Dunn

9 minute read

April 06, 2022 | New York Law Journal

The court's March 24 decision in 'Ramirez v. Collier' reflects the much-noted religious zeal several current justices bring to the Supreme Court. Less recognized, the decision demonstrates how that zeal can yield important benefits in other areas of civil rights law.

By Christopher Dunn

10 minute read

February 02, 2022 | New York Law Journal

In an 8-1 decision written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, liberal and conservative justices agreed that the Court of Appeals' position that prosecutors were free to introduce hearsay evidence without an opportunity to cross-examine if the defense had created a "misleading impression" violated the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause.

By Christopher Dunn

9 minute read

December 01, 2021 | New York Law Journal

Nearly 250 years after the adoption of the Bill of Rights, in a country peopled by immigrants, basic constitutional protections remain unresolved for one group: noncitizens detained on suspicion of civil offenses involving U.S. immigration law. This hole in constitutional law must be filled.

By Christopher Dunn

11 minute read

October 06, 2021 | New York Law Journal

In this edition of his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, Christopher Dunn discusses history and precedent regarding mandatory vaccination in light of two cases currently pending before the Second Circuit.

By Christopher Dunn

10 minute read

August 04, 2021 | New York Law Journal

Five decades after the Supreme Court endorsed police stop-and-frisk with limits on its use, lower courts continue to struggle balancing officer safety with individual privacy and the threats of police abuse. A full Second Circuit is now poised to issue a rare en banc decision that captures the struggle in the post-'Terry' jurisprudence. In his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, Christopher Dunn discusses the background and current state of affairs in stop-and-frisk and why he thinks we may see "dramatic changes in the coming year."

By Christopher Dunn

10 minute read

June 02, 2021 | New York Law Journal

In this edition of his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, Christopher Dunn reports on three cases out of New York that are now before the Supreme Court: one involving a challenge to New York's licensing regime for the carrying of concealed weapons; another involving malicious prosecution claims; and the third addressing the extent to which prosecutors can introduce out-of-court testimony notwithstanding the Sixth Amendment's strict Confrontation Clause. He writes that, beyond their substantive import, these cases present intriguing politics.

By Christopher Dunn

10 minute read

March 31, 2021 | New York Law Journal

The Takings Clause was before the Supreme Court last week in a case in which a property-rights advocacy organization seeks to expand dramatically the clause's scope in an effort to curb the government's power over private property. As Christopher Dunn explains in this edition of his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, the bigger agenda here is to establish the proposition that the Takings Clause is triggered automatically whenever the government mandates access to private property, which ultimately could implicate public-accommodations statutes.

By Christopher Dunn

10 minute read

February 03, 2021 | New York Law Journal

In his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, Christopher Dunn reviews the most common ways to attack federal executive action and the Supreme Court's rulings—all authored by Chief Justice Roberts—in challenges to three of the most consequential Trump Administration executive actions.

By Christopher Dunn

11 minute read