As to the first case reported below, I've always felt that child protective service work, juvenile delinquency proceedings and code enforcement to be the most important of roles for local government attorneys as each offers the opportunity to help shape lives, protect the vulnerable and the community. This case based only on the allegations reflects concerns about the overzealousness that can sometimes come from overcrowded dockets and seeing far too many children at risk. 9th Circuit - Immunity - Child Protective Services An infant fell from a bed while briefly unattended. The parent took the child for medical evaluation and the health practitioners duly reported the incident to child protection. A worker with child protection who was assigned to follow up told the parents to have the child examined for internal injuries. The parents declined and ultimately the department sought to take the child into custody to protect it and seek the evaluation. According to the pleadings the parents were not notified of the hearing and that the workers misled the court as to why the parents did not show. The suit claimed violations of constitutional rights and the workers asserted absolute prosecutorial immunity. Denied. The Court also denied qualified immunity. To trial the case must go. Rieman vs. Vazquez, https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/03/05/22-56054.pdf 8th Circuit - Land Use - Code Enforcement - Res Judicata A person buys property in a rural area that is not zoned and begins using the property for storage and auto repair. The property is annexed, and complaints begin over the illegal use of the property. Suit in state court ensues and the person loses on complaints against the city and various city officials. Because most of us know that you can make a federal case out of just about any complaint these days, the person sues the same folks in federal court for essentially the same thing. Res judicata applies. As an aside, the court doesn't discuss how the property became subject to zoning and the issue of whether a newly annexed property is a non-conforming use or immediately rezoned upon annexation. Perhaps, readers can comment on that question. Scott vs. City of Sherwood 231148P.pdf (uscourts.gov)<http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/24/03/231148P.pdf> Charles W. Thompson, Jr. Of Counsel P: (202) 466-5424 x7110 M: (240) 876-6790 D: (202) 742-1016 [facebook icon]<https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMunicipalLawyersAssociation/>[twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/imlalegal>[linkedin icon]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-municipal-lawyers-association-inc./> [logo]<https://imla.org/> 51 Monroe St. Suite 404 Rockville, MD, 20850 www.imla.org<http://www.imla.org/> Plan Ahead! Plan Ahead! See IMLA's upcoming events<https://imla.org/events/>, calls and programming. Check out our On-Demand webinar library<https://netforum.avectra.com/eweb/shopping/shopping.aspx?site=imla&webcode=shopping&cart=0&shopsearchCat=Merchandise&productCat=Webinar> with 100+ webinars at your fingertips!