Monday, December 24, 2007

Outlaws. The Second Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment to the Connecticut Department of Corrections, dismissing the action brought against it by correctional officers who had been disciplined for being members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

The decision in Piscottano v. Murphy can be found here.

Friday, December 21, 2007

No immunity. In Gilles v. Repicky, the Second Circuit reversed an order granting summary judgment based on qualified immunity grounds. The Court held that a police officer could not hold an individual after he no longer had reasonable grounds to believe that she had engaged in criminal activity, even if at the time of the stop, he had such grounds.

The decision can be found here.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

More certified questions. The Second Circuit is putting the New York State Court of Appeals back to work by certifying some more questions. The questions submitted to the New York Court in Reddington v. Staten Island University Hospital are:

Does the institution of a time-barred claim pursuant to New York Labor Law 740 simultaneously with a claim pursuant to New York Labor Law 741 trigger section 740(7)'s waiver provision and thereby bar the section741 claim, even if the section 740 claim is subsequently withdrawn?

Does the definition of employee in New York Labor Law 741 encompass an individual who does not render medical treatment, and under what circumstances?

The decision can be found here.
Unsworn recantation. The Second Circuit in Haouari v. United States denied without prejudice a criminal convict's motion to file a second motion under 28 U.S.C. 2255 because the new evidence was not in the proper form. The evidence was an unsworn letter from the petitioner's co-conspirator, recanting his prior testimony. The Court held that the evidence would have to be provided in the form of a sworn affidavit.

The decision can be found here.