September 19th, 2018

US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions
Alvarez v. City of Brownsville

Docket: 16-40772
Opinion Date: September 18, 2018
Judges: Carl E. Stewart, E. Grady Jolly, Jerry E. Smith, Jacques Loeb Wiener, Jr., Edith Brown Clement, Priscilla R. Owen, Jennifer Walker Elrod, Leslie H. Southwick, Catharina Haynes, Stephen Andrew Higginson, Don R. Willett, Ho
Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law

This case was reheard en banc after plaintiff obtained a $2.3 million judgment that was reversed and his claims were dismissed. The court held that plaintiff's Brady v. Maryland claim should have been dismissed as a matter of law on summary judgment because the city should not have been subjected to municipal liability for plaintiff's 42 U.S.C. 1983 claim. The court also declined the invitation to disturb its precedent concerning a defendant's constitutional right to Brady material prior to entering a guilty plea.

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