John M Baker

June 05, 2024 | Law.com

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently upheld the grant of summary judgment to an Iowa city and several police officers in their individual capacity in a Section 1983 suit brought by a street preacher who was removed from a festival area but allowed to continue his preaching across the street from the festival's entrance.

By John M. Baker and Katherine M. Swenson

6 minute read

May 08, 2024 | Law.com

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently held that individual defendants in a Section 1983 lawsuit brought by a transgender inmate were entitled to qualified immunity on some, but not all, of the inmate's claims.

By John M. Baker and Katherine M. Swenson

7 minute read

April 23, 2024 | Law.com

The Eighth Circuit recently affirmed the Western District of Missouri's denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity to two individual defendants who had been sued for First Amendment retaliation under Section 1983.

By John M. Baker and Katherine M. Swenson

6 minute read

March 01, 2024 | Law.com

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a judgment that the city of St. Louis violated the First Amendment because its now-former President of the Board of Aldermen, Lewis Reed, blocked on his Twitter account someone who posted a hostile tweet.

By John M. Baker and Katherine M. Swenson

6 minute read

December 05, 2023 | Law.com

The Eighth Circuit recently held, as a matter of first impression, that private parties may not sue to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Instead, lawsuits to enforce Section 2 can only be brought by the Attorney General of the United States.

By John M. Baker and Katherine M. Swenson

6 minute read

September 05, 2023 | Law.com

The Eighth Circuit recently clarified the circumstances in which a treating physician who is offered to provide expert testimony as to the cause of a plaintiff's injury must submit an expert report in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2).

By John M. Baker and Katherine M. Swenson

6 minute read

September 15, 2022 | Law.com

The case, 'Eggers v. Evnen', involves the power of Nebraska voters to enact statutes and constitutional amendments independently of the legislature by placing initiatives on the ballot.

By John M. Baker and Katherine M. Swenson

7 minute read

July 18, 2022 | Law.com

If the Eighth Circuit was correct in observing that individual capacity liability to pay just compensation for a taking does not exist, perhaps every potential avenue to obtain just compensation in federal court arising from an alleged taking by a state official is barred, either for that reason, or because of the Eleventh Amendment.

By John M. Baker

7 minute read

June 21, 2022 | Law.com

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit rejected the argument that an arrest by South Dakota law-enforcement officers was unreasonable because the officers lacked authority under state law to arrest the defendant for a federal crime.

By John M. Baker and Katherine M. Swenson

5 minute read

March 16, 2022 | Law.com

In 'Robinson', a civil rights plaintiff had forfeited the argument that his claims, which had been dismissed at the Rule 12 stage as untimely, were in fact timely because the last day to file fell on a federal holiday and the complaint was filed the following day. The Eighth Circuit exercised its discretion to excuse the forfeiture, resurrecting all but one of the plaintiff's §1983 claims.

By John M. Baker and Katherine M. Swenson

6 minute read