Litigation Update: Gonzalez v. Trevino – When the Courts Wrestle with Qualified Immunity

Gonzalez v. Trevino involves an alleged retaliatory conspiracy of city officials from Castle Hills, Texas to arrest Sylvia Gonzalez—a 72-year-old councilwoman—for spearheading a nonbinding petition criticizing the city’s manager. Gonzalez acknowledges that there was probable cause for her arrest and appellants asserted a qualified immunity defense. The district court denied Appellants’ motion to dismiss. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s order denying Appellant’s motion to dismiss, finding Appellee failed to establish a violation of her constitutional rights. Notable dissents were issued by Judges Oldham (from the panel opinion) and Ho (from the denial of en banc review). Anya Bidwell and the Institute for Justice have petitioned the Supreme Court for review. Please join us as Ms. Bidwell discusses qualified immunity, the First Amendment, and the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Gonzalez v. Trevino.