No. 23-540

Laura Covington v. City of Madisonville, Texas

Lower Court: Fifth Circuit
Docketed: 2023-11-20
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: 42-usc-1983 civil-rights constitutional-rights municipal-liability official-policy police-chief policymaker section-1983 state-law
Key Terms:
SocialSecurity DueProcess
Latest Conference: 2024-01-05
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether a plaintiff must overcome a presumption that a police chief is not an official policymaker to prove the municipality delegated policymaking authority to the police chief over the discrete police activity that caused the constitutional violation

Question Presented (from Petition)

QUESTION PRESENTED To obtain relief against a municipality under §1983, a plaintiff must show an official policy from a policymaker was the moving force behind a violation of a constitutional right. The question of whether an official is a policymaker is a matter of state law. Does this Court’s precedent require a plaintiff to overcome a presumption that a police chief is not an official policymaker to prove the municipality delegated policymaking authority to the police chief over the discrete police activity that caused the constitutional violation?

Docket Entries

2024-01-08
Petition DENIED.
2023-11-29
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2024.
2023-11-21
Waiver of right of respondent Madisonville, TX to respond filed.
2023-11-16
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 20, 2023)

Attorneys

Laura Covington
Larry WattsWatts & Associates, Petitioner
Larry WattsWatts & Associates, Petitioner
Madisonville, TX
Norman Ray GilesLewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, Respondent
Norman Ray GilesLewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, Respondent