{"id":3080,"date":"2021-03-08T08:13:30","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T16:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crimeandconsequences.blog\/?p=3080"},"modified":"2021-03-08T08:25:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T16:25:45","slug":"scotus-nominal-damages-are-enough-to-avoid-mootness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crimeandconsequences.blog\/?p=3080","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS: Nominal Damages Are Enough to Avoid Mootness"},"content":{"rendered":"

A recurring problem in civil rights litigation is that a party with standing to have an allegedly illegal practice enjoined may not have standing by the time the litigation reaches completion. Students may graduate<\/a>. Employees may change jobs<\/a>. If an injunction is the only relief sought, the case may be declared moot and dismissed. In addition to the mootness problem, injunctive relief might not be available from the beginning. A person subjected to a questioned police practice may be highly unlikely to ever face it again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A party whose rights are violated but who suffers no real damage may sue for “nominal damages,” a token award of, say, one dollar. The Supreme Court held today that such damages are sufficient to prevent mootness and allow the suit to reach conclusion.<\/p>\n

The classic example of nominal damages from property law is the trespasser who walks over an owner’s land but does no damage. If the owner just lets it go, the trespassers may eventually claim an easement by prescription. The suit for a dollar establishes that they have no right to cross the land and keeps the owner’s title clear.<\/p>\n

Today’s case is Uzuegbunam<\/em> v. Preczewski<\/em><\/a>, No. 19-968. This case is a religious liberty on campus case, but the same principle would apply in law-enforcement related cases such as those involving search and seizure. Indeed nominal damages may be particularly suited to these cases. It’s hard to put much of a money value on a brief stop. But if a city’s police department has a policy of stopping people in dubious circumstances, a “pattern or practice” suit against the city (which, unlike the individual officer, has no qualified immunity) could be a suitable vehicle to challenge the practice.<\/p>\n

The opinion of the Court was written by Justice Thomas, joined by all except Chief Justice Roberts, who dissented.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A recurring problem in civil rights litigation is that a party with standing to have an allegedly illegal practice enjoined may not have standing by the time the litigation reaches completion. Students may graduate. Employees may change jobs. If an injunction is the only relief sought, the case may be declared moot and dismissed. In addition to the mootness problem, injunctive relief might not be available from the beginning. A person subjected to a questioned police practice may be highly unlikely to ever face it again. A party whose rights are violated but who suffers no real damage may sue for “nominal damages,” a token award of, say, one dollar. The Supreme Court held today that such damages are sufficient to prevent mootness and allow the suit to reach conclusion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-civil-suits","category-u-s-supreme-court"],"yoast_head":"\nSCOTUS: Nominal Damages Are Enough to Avoid Mootness - Crime & Consequences<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crimeandconsequences.blog\/?p=3080\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SCOTUS: Nominal Damages Are Enough to Avoid Mootness - Crime & Consequences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A recurring problem in civil rights litigation is that a party with standing to have an allegedly illegal practice enjoined may not have standing by the time the litigation reaches completion. 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