News 11 Oct. 2023
Curtis Team Instrumental in Shareholder Approval of a New Multilateral Treaty to Transform Pan-African Housing Finance Institution Shelter Afrique into a Development Bank
more
Event 23 Aug. 2023
Partner Borzu Sabahi Speaks at the 52nd IDRI Professional Accreditation & Membership Programme
Event 18 Aug. 2023
Partner Borzu Sabahi Speaks at FDI Moot Shenzhen
News 25 Jul. 2023
Partner Eric Gilioli Ranked in Top 10 Influential Energy & Natural Resources Lawyers in Kazakhstan in Business Today
Article 22 Aug. 2023
Fuad Zarbiyev Publishes Article in Journal of International Economic Law
Client Alert 14 Aug. 2023
The EU’s Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Regulation: The Highlights
Event 22 Aug. 2023
Partner Dr. Claudia Frutos-Peterson to Speak at Arbitration and ADR Commission of the ICC Mexico
Event 11 Jul. 2023
Partner Elisa Botero Speaks on the Role of the ICC in Investment Disputes
News 15 Aug. 2023
Legal Reader Publishes Article on Dr. Majed Alotaibi’s Arrival as Senior Counsel in Curtis’ Riyadh Office
News 31 Jul. 2023
Curtis Welcomes Senior Saudi Advisor, Dr. Majed Alotaibi, to its Riyadh Office
News 24 Aug. 2023
Curtis Attorneys Quoted in CoinDesk on FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s Strategy Ahead of His Criminal Trial
News 06 Mar. 2023
Russia Sanctions at the First Anniversary: An Overview of Current Sanctions in the US, UK, and EU and How Global Companies Can Navigate Evolving and Conflicting Sanctions Regimes
Client Alert 30 Aug. 2022
The EU Adopts the “Maintenance and Alignment” Sanctions Package
Client Alert 24 Jun. 2021
Update on Virtual Notarization (Executive Order 202.7) During the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic (Updated: June 24, 2021) — U.S. Insight
Update on Virtual Witnessing (New York Executive Order 202.14) During The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic (Updated: June 24, 2021) — U.S. Insight
News 16 May. 2022
Click here to download the full press release
Acting as pro bono counsel, Curtis filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the Ohio Justice & Policy Center (OJPC) in support of granting the petition for certiorari in Gray v. White, No. 21-1362, a case involving a prisoner’s right to assert a claim for excessive force by prison guards in connection with a disciplinary violation.
“OJPC does important work ensuring that basic constitutional rights are enforced, and we are honored to assist OJPC in presenting its views to the Supreme Court on these important issues,” said Curtis partner Juan Perla, who led the Curtis appellate team on this pro bono matter. Other members of the team included partners Barry Kingham and Robert Garcia, and associates Nathaniel Ament-Stone and Aubre Dean.
The case was brought by a prisoner in Louisiana, who alleges that prison guards attacked him without provocation, sprayed him with a chemical agent, and beat him severely, causing injuries including a broken nose and a bruised kidney. He filed a civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, asserting claims for excessive force in violation of his constitutional rights including the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. As a defense, the guards relied on a prison board’s findings that some of the alleged conduct was provoked and was a response to a disciplinary violation by the petitioner. That determination resulted in the revocation of the petitioner’s good-time credit, which had the effect of extending his term of confinement. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that excessive-force claims may be barred by the Supreme Court’s decision in Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994), which forecloses the use of Section 1983 as a means of indirectly attacking the validity of a prisoner’s conviction or sentence. The Fifth Circuit remanded to the district court for a “fact-specific analysis” as to whether the petitioner’s claims are Heck barred.
Michael Zuckerman, a law professor at The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law and litigation counsel at OJPC, stated: “Prisoners seeking to vindicate their constitutional rights face extraordinary legal hurdles already. The Heck bar has its purposes when it comes to challenging convictions and sentences, but broadening Heck’s reach to cover conditions-of-confinement claims is a misguided expansion of the doctrine. We at OJPC are grateful to the excellent team at Curtis for helping stand up for Section 1983 and the constitutional rights of incarcerated people across the country.”
Appellate Litigation
Juan Perla
Partner
T. Barry Kingham
Robert B. García
Aubre G. Dean
Associate
New York
+1 212 696 6000
News 29 Nov. 2023
Partner Dr. Alexandra G. Maier Wins the 2024 Lexology Client Choice Award for the Mining Experts Category
Event 20 Nov. 2023
Mohannad A. El Murtadi to Moderate a Panel on New York’s First Africa Arbitration Day
Event 15 Nov. 2023
Fernando Tupa Speaks on Latin America Perspectives on Investor-State Dispute Resolution at Columbia University
We use cookies on our website to enhance your browsing experience, match your interests and assess our website performance. We do not share information with any third-party for marketing purposes. Please view our privacy policy to learn more about the use of cookies on our website. By continuing to browse our website, you consent to our use of cookies.