Supreme Court

From barbecue restaurants to highway beautification, justices mull implications of sign-ordinance case

From barbecue restaurants to highway beautification, justices mull implications of sign-ordinance case

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The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Wednesday in a challenge to a Texas city’s ordinance that treats signs differently depending on whether they have a connection to the site where they are located. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that the ordinance violates the First Amendment, but during over 90 minutes of oral argument in City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Texas, the Supreme Court was closely divided on this question. … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices add four new cases to their docket, including Bivens case, but won’t reconsider Bivens itself

Justices add four new cases to their docket, including <em>Bivens</em> case, but won’t reconsider <em>Bivens</em> itself

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Fifty years ago, in Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents, the Supreme Court ruled that a private individual could sue an FBI agent for violating his Fourth Amendment rights, even when there was not a specific law authorizing a claim for damages. In the nine years after Bivens, the court recognized Bivens claims for damages for violations of the Fifth and Eighth Amendments, but in 2017 it stressed that “expanding the Bivens remedy is now a … Read the rest