Justia U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Denver police arrested Marvin Booker on a warrant for failure to appear at a hearing regarding a drug charge. During booking, Booker died while in custody after officers restrained him in response to alleged insubordination. Several officers pinned Booker face-down to the ground, one placed him in a chokehold, and another tased him. The officers sought medical help for Booker, but he could not be revived. Booker’s estate sued Deputies Faun Gomez, James Grimes, Kyle Sharp, Kenneth Robinette, and Sergeant Carrie Rodriguez, alleging they used excessive force and failed to provide Booker with immediate medical care. Defendants moved for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds. The district court denied their motion because disputed facts precluded summary judgment. The Defendants appealed, but finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed. View "Estate of Marvin L. Booker, et al v. Gomez, et al" on Justia Law

Camille Kramer sued her former employer the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Department for sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and 42 U.S.C. 1983. She appealed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Wasatch County on all claims. Upon review, the Tenth Circuit affirmed summary judgment as to the 1983 claim but reversed on the Title VII claim. View "Kramer v. Wasatch Co. Sheriff's Office, et al" on Justia Law

In 2010, three individuals ran for the Colorado House of Representatives, House District 61: Kathleen Curry was a write-in candidate; Roger Wilson was the Democratic nominee, and Luke Korkowski was the Republican nominee. Under Colorado law, individual contributions to Ms. Curry were capped at $200, and individual contributions to each of her opponents were capped at $400. Contributors to Ms. Curry’s campaign sued state officials under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming violation of the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The district court rejected the claims and granted summary judgment to the state officials. The Tenth Circuit reversed on the equal-protection claim; and in light of this, declined to address the summary-judgment ruling on the First Amendment claims. View "Riddle v. Hickenlooper" on Justia Law

Plaintiff-Appellant Steven Smothers sued his former employer Solvay Chemical, Inc. for alleged discrimination against him on the basis of his medical disability in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He worked eighteen years until Solvay fired him, allegedly because of a safety violation and dispute with a co-worker. Plaintiff maintained the company's true motivation was retaliation for his taking medical leave. The district court granted Solvay summary judgment on plaintiff's FMLA and ADA claims and on his state law claim for breach of implied contract. It dismissed the remaining state law claims as moot based on its resolution of plaintiff's breach of contract claim. Upon careful consideration of the facts of this case, the Tenth Circuit reversed the district court on the FMLA and ADA claims, and affirmed on the state law breach of contract claim. View "Smothers v. Solvay Chemicals Inc." on Justia Law

Marcia Eisenhour sued Weber County, three of its county commissioners, and a state judge. According to Eisenhour, the judge sexually harassed her and the County retaliated against her for reporting the harassment. She claimed violations of Utah's Whistleblower Act, the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, and Title VII. The district court granted summary judgment to the defendants on all claims. Eisenhour challenged that ruling and the district court’s exclusion of her testimony on disciplinary proceedings involving the judge. Upon review, the Tenth Circuit affirmed: (1) the exclusion of Eisenhour's testimony during the disciplinary proceedings involving Judge Storey; and (2) the award of summary judgment on the claims against the County for violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses, liability under Title VII, and violation of the Whistleblower Act relating to the refusal to rehire her. However, the Court concluded that genuine issues of material fact existed on: (1) the claim against the County under the Whistleblower Act and the First Amendment claim based on closing of the Justice Court; and (2) the claims against Judge Storey based on the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. View "Eisenhour v. Weber County, et al" on Justia Law

The City of Greenwood Village, Colorado fired Police Sergeant Patrick Cillo after an incident involving officers under his command. Sgt. Cillo alleged the City's real motive for firing him was opposition to the union chapter he led. Sgt. Cillo and his union sued the City and three individuals. The district court granted summary judgment for Defendants on all claims. Upon review, the Tenth Circuit concluded that Sgt. Cillo survived summary judgment as to the first three "Pickering/Connick" factors and that the individual defendants were not entitled to summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds. The district court's judgment was reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings. View "Cillo, et al v. City of Greenwood Vilage, et al" on Justia Law

An immigration judge found petitioner Nadia Maatougui removable for marriage fraud in 2004. Petitioner then asylum and four other forms of relief from removal. The Immigration Judge denied the requests, and the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed. Petitioner claimed on appeal to the Tenth Circuit that the IJ and BIA erred in denying her a hardship waiver and cancellation of removal based on their credibility determinations and the weight they gave the evidence in her case. Under case law, the Tenth Circuit determined it did not have jurisdiction to overturn their credibility determinations or evidence weighing, and thus could not grant relief on that claim. Petitioner also claimed that changed conditions in her native Morocco and the ineffective assistance of her prior counsel at a hearing in 2004 merited reopening her case. The Tenth Circuit concluded petitioner failed to present new, material, previously unavailable evidence that justified reopening her case. View "Maatougui v. Holder, Jr." on Justia Law

Jeremy Myers challenged the district court's dismissal of his malicious prosecution claim, alleging violations of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Specifically, he argued that Detective Brian Koopman obtained an arrest warrant by fabricating facts to create the illusion of probable cause. As a result, Myers spent three days in custody. Upon careful consideration of the facts of this case, the Tenth Circuit concluded that the district court did not err in dismissing Myers’ Fourteenth Amendment claim because an adequate state remedy existed, but the district court improperly dismissed Myers’ Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution claim as untimely after recasting it as a claim for false imprisonment. View "Myers v. Koopman" on Justia Law

Defendant Officer Patricia Yazzie appeals the district court's denial of qualified immunity in this case that alleged wrongful arrest and imprisonment (Count I) and illegal seizure of property (Count II). This case was an interlocutory appeal following the district court's ruling in an action brought by Spero Panagoulakos pursuant to 42 U.S.C. sections 1983 and 1988, and 28 U.S.C. 1343. Upon careful consideration of the district court record, the Tenth Circuit found that the officer was entitled to qualified immunity because "no clearly established law imposed on her a duty to release Panagoulakos following his lawful arrest after [a] traffic stop." View "Panagoulakos v. Yazzie, et al" on Justia Law

Two prison guards had sexual intercourse with Plaintiff-Appellant Stacey Graham while she was in solitary confinement at the Logan County Jail in Oklahoma. The guards confessed and were fired immediately. Plaintiff sought damages in a civil-rights complaint against the two guards and the county sheriff. She alleged a violation of the Eighth Amendment. The federal district court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment on the ground that the sexual acts were consensual. The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision: "[a]lthough we recognize a need to examine consent carefully in the prison context, this case does not present a factual issue with regard to Ms. Graham's consent." View "Graham v. Sheriff of Logan County, et al" on Justia Law