AGRiP Webinar: U.S. Supreme Court Update

When:  Sep 13, 2022 from 14:00 to 14:45 (ET)
This fast-paced webinar offers insight into the impacts of actions of the U.S. Supreme Court on local entities and public entity pools.

Watch the webinar in which Lisa Soronen, former Executive Director of State and Local Legal Center, will talk about:

Attend this fast-paced webinar with Lisa Soronen, former Executive Director of State and Local Legal Center. She will talk about recent Supreme Court actions impacting pools members and what the cases mean to pools, including:

First Amendment and Religion
Two cases that impact pool members about religion and the First Amendment. One case is about the decision by a front line employee — a public school coach — who prayed publicly with students after a game. The second about a third-party flag program and decisions by a local elected governing body that resulted in a lawsuit. The cases are interesting because they illustrate how local entities can face lawsuits at any level.

First Amendment Free Speech
Many local entities regulate billboards and on-premises signs differently. A recent free speech ruling decided these different regulations are acceptable if they are “narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest.”

A second free speech decision leaves many questions unanswered. The Court ruled that a member of a governing body who has been censured cannot sue the governing body for breach of First Amendment rights. The Court, however, did not rule on whether other punitive actions may violate the First Amendment.

Guns
Public entity pools should anticipate increased Second Amendment challenges against local entities due to a decision by the Court which held states and local government can’t condition gun ownership on “proper cause.” While some Justices indicated government entities may disallow guns in “sensitive places” and allow “objective” licensing requirements such as background checks, these and other regulations are likely to be challenged in court.

Police
Police liability was expanded when the Court found malicious prosecution claims can be brought simply by showing a prosecution ended without conviction. While the facts of this case were favorable to the local entity, it did not prevail. Two qualified immunity cases were wins for local government but neither clarified nor modified the law.

Location