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Ronald Duhe, et al. v. City of Little Rock, Arkansas, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, No. 17-2012 · judgment September 5, 2018


Certiorari denied · February 19, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 2% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

On summary judgment:

  1. Whether precedent by this Court together with the Eighth Circuit, other circuits and state courts of last resort had clearly established the vagueness and overbreadth of language in the Arkansas disorderly conduct statute that, here, punished leafletting and amplified speech.

  2. Whether police testimony is the only evidence that matters in a probable cause determination, such that police have no duty to consider controverting witness prior to an arrest.

  3. Whether a statute’s unconstitutional conduct prohibitions are cured by an unconstitutional scienter element.

  4. Whether an automatic 48-hour detention policy is constitutional under Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103 (1975) and County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (1991).

  5. Whether standing to challenge a vague permit ordinance arises from a chill on the First Amendment by police threats to enforce the ordinance and police intent to make such threats in the future.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Rebecca R. Messall
Messall Law Firm, LLC

For respondent
Thomas Milton Carpenter
Office of the CityAttorney

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Feb 19 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jan 23 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/15/2019.
  3. Jan 04 2019
    Waiver of right of respondent City of Little Rock, Arkansas to respond filed.
  4. Dec 21 2018
    Waiver of right of respondent Pulaski County, Arkansas to respond filed.
  5. Dec 03 2018
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 7, 2019)