7th Circuit Case Commentaries

§ 1983 Plaintiffs Cannot Use the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause Against State Actors; Prosecutors Are Absolutely Immune for Reviewing Search-Warrant Affidavits

Date: Jan 13, 2026

§ 1983 Plaintiffs Cannot Use the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause Against State Actors; Prosecutors Are Absolutely Immune for Reviewing Search-Warrant Affidavits 1. Introduction Dale Economan v....

§ 1983 Pleading Rule: No Fifth Amendment Due Process Claim Against State Actors; Prosecutors Absolutely Immune for Reviewing Search-Warrant Affidavits

Date: Jan 13, 2026

§ 1983 Pleading Rule: No Fifth Amendment Due Process Claim Against State Actors; Prosecutors Absolutely Immune for Reviewing Search-Warrant Affidavits 1. Introduction Dale Economan v. Garrison Law...

Contraindicated Medication Advice After Diagnosis Creates a Jury Issue on Deliberate Indifference (Seventh Circuit)

Date: Jan 11, 2026

Contraindicated Medication Advice After Diagnosis Creates a Jury Issue on Deliberate Indifference Case: Vernell Freeman v. Kimberly Myers and Noe Marandet Court: Court of Appeals for the Seventh...

United States v. Yumang: Trivial Courtroom Closures and Remote Lab-Analyst Impeachment

Date: Jan 11, 2026

Trivial Five‑Minute Courtroom Closures to Memorialize an Unrecorded Sidebar Do Not Implicate the Sixth Amendment Public‑Trial Right; Post‑Event Performance Plans Are Properly Excluded as Remote...

Anders Dismissal Where “Serious Bodily Injury” and Permanent-Scarring Enhancement Are Supported and Sentencing Objections Are Waived

Date: Jan 10, 2026

Anders Dismissal Where “Serious Bodily Injury” and Permanent-Scarring Enhancement Are Supported and Sentencing Objections Are Waived 1. Introduction In United States v. Julian Breal (7th Cir. Jan. 9,...

Post-Snyder § 666 Bribery in the Seventh Circuit: Quid Pro Quo Required, No “Magic Words,” and “Corruptly” Means Intent to Trade Value for Influence

Date: Jan 10, 2026

Post-Snyder § 666 Bribery in the Seventh Circuit: Quid Pro Quo Required, No “Magic Words,” and “Corruptly” Means Intent to Trade Value for Influence 1. Introduction United States v. Charles Cui (7th...

Pleading Self-Defense to Overcome Probable Cause in § 1983 False-Arrest Claims (Illinois Battery)

Date: Jan 8, 2026

Pleading Self-Defense to Overcome Probable Cause in § 1983 False-Arrest Claims (Illinois Battery) Introduction In Malcolm Brogsdale v. Annette Torres-Corona, an off-duty Chicago police officer,...

Seventh Circuit Tightens Standing in Telehealth-Abortion Challenges: No “Probabilistic” Members, No Generalized Stigma, and No Redress Where Other Statutes Independently Bar the Conduct

Date: Jan 7, 2026

Seventh Circuit Tightens Standing in Telehealth-Abortion Challenges: No “Probabilistic” Members, No Generalized Stigma, and No Redress Where Other Statutes Independently Bar the Conduct I....

Above-Guidelines Variances: Serious Uncharged Conduct Can Supply a Sufficiently Compelling Justification Without a Numerical “Variance Math” Explanation

Date: Jan 7, 2026

Above-Guidelines Variances: Serious Uncharged Conduct Can Supply a Sufficiently Compelling Justification Without a Numerical “Variance Math” Explanation Introduction United States v. Jerry J. Jones...

Mild Mental Limitations Need Not Appear in the RFC When the ALJ Explains Their Minimal Work Impact and Substantial Evidence Supports the Omission

Date: Jan 7, 2026

Mild Mental Limitations Need Not Appear in the RFC When the ALJ Explains Their Minimal Work Impact and Substantial Evidence Supports the Omission Introduction In Kenneth Kruckow v. Frank Bisignano,...

Manager/Supervisor Role Enhancement Turns on Relative Culpability (Not Direct Control) and Unraised Sentencing-Disparity Objections Are Waived After the Garcia-Segura Inquiry

Date: Jan 2, 2026

Manager/Supervisor Role Enhancement Turns on Relative Culpability (Not Direct Control) and Unraised Sentencing-Disparity Objections Are Waived After the Garcia-Segura Inquiry Introduction In United...

Limits on Absolute Immunity for Extra-Judicial Brady/Giglio Disclosures and Due-Process Liability for Resignation Induced by Misrepresentation

Date: Jan 2, 2026

Limits on Absolute Immunity for Extra-Judicial Brady/Giglio Disclosures and Due-Process Liability for Resignation Induced by Misrepresentation Case: Randall Martin v. Robert Goldsmith, et al., No....

Secondhand, Identified 911 Domestic-Violence Reports Plus On-Scene Corroboration Support Emergency-Aid Entry; Cost Shifting Requires Proof of Future Inability to Pay

Date: Jan 2, 2026

Secondhand, Identified 911 Domestic-Violence Reports Plus On-Scene Corroboration Support Emergency-Aid Entry; Cost Shifting Requires Proof of Future Inability to Pay Introduction In Antron Cannon v....

Emergency-Aid Warrantless Home Entry and Probable Cause in Domestic-Violence Responses; Indigency Standard for Taxing Costs

Date: Jan 2, 2026

Emergency-Aid Warrantless Home Entry and Probable Cause in Domestic-Violence Responses; Indigency Standard for Taxing Costs Case: Antron Cannon v. Walker Filip, et al. Court: United States Court of...

Ambiguous “Get Even” Statements and Criminal Motive Support a No-Nexus Finding Under Substantial-Evidence Review

Date: Dec 31, 2025

Ambiguous “Get Even” Statements and Criminal Motive Support a No-Nexus Finding Under Substantial-Evidence Review 1) Introduction Case: Cinia Quiroz-Bardales v. Pamela J. Bondi (7th Cir. Dec. 29,...

Ransom Crimes Against Relatives and Perceived Wealth Do Not Establish Withholding or CAT Relief Without Individualized Targeting, PSG Nexus, and Government Acquiescence

Date: Dec 31, 2025

Ransom Crimes Against Relatives and Perceived Wealth Do Not Establish Withholding or CAT Relief Without Individualized Targeting, PSG Nexus, and Government Acquiescence 1. Introduction In Jesus...

Lane v. Stericycle: Salary-History Defenses and Temporal Pay Disparities under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII

Date: Dec 25, 2025

Lane v. Stericycle: Salary-History Defenses and Temporal Pay Disparities under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII I. Introduction The Seventh Circuit’s decision in Cheryl Lane & Adrienne Hause v....

Attempted Child Exploitation via Intermediaries under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a): Commentary on United States v. Carpenter (7th Cir. 2025)

Date: Dec 25, 2025

Attempted Child Exploitation via Intermediaries under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a): Commentary on United States v. Carpenter (7th Cir. 2025) I. Introduction The Seventh Circuit’s decision in United States v....

Exclusivity Alone Does Not Create a Type II Preliminary Agreement: A Commentary on 37celsius Capital Partners, L.P. v. Intel Corporation

Date: Dec 25, 2025

Exclusivity Alone Does Not Create a Type II Preliminary Agreement: A Commentary on 37celsius Capital Partners, L.P. v. Intel Corporation I. Introduction This Seventh Circuit decision, 37celsius...

Prospective-Only Youth Parole Reform and Constitutional Limits: Commentary on Israel Ruiz v. J.B. Pritzker (7th Cir. 2025)

Date: Dec 25, 2025

Prospective-Only Youth Parole Reform and Constitutional Limits: A Commentary on Israel Ruiz v. J.B. Pritzker, No. 24‑1853 (7th Cir. Dec. 23, 2025) I. Introduction The Seventh Circuit’s decision in...

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