The U.S. Supreme Court recently resolved an issue that had been frustrating the courts for many years. In Nieves v. Bartlett, 139 S. Ct. 1715 (2019), the court held that as a strong general rule probable cause to arrest defeats a §1983 free speech retaliatory arrest claim against an arresting officer.
The justices wrote five separate opinions. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., wrote the opinion for the court, which was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and, for the most part, by Justice Clarence Thomas. Justice Thomas’s concurrence opined that probable cause should defeat all retaliatory arrest claims. Justices Neil Gorsuch, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sonia Sotomayor in their separate opinions urged that probable cause should not defeat a retaliatory arrest claim.
‘Nieves’ Background
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