Gonzalez v. Trevino
Overview
Overview
Sylvia Gonzalez was elected to Castroville, Texas city council and immediately circulated a petition calling for removal of the city manager. Allied with the opposing mayor. Within months she was arrested on a charge of mishandling a petition collected during a city council meeting. A charge no one in the county had ever been prosecuted for. She sued for retaliatory arrest under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in June 2024 that Nieves v. Bartlett allows narrow exceptions where a plaintiff shows objective evidence that others who committed the same offense were not prosecuted.
The Conclusion
Conclusion
The Supreme Court held 6-3 that retaliatory arrest claims survive Nieves v. Bartlett if a plaintiff shows objective evidence that others committed the same offense without prosecution. Gonzalez, arrested for circulating a petition calling for removal of the city manager, could advance her First Amendment retaliation claim on that showing.
Flag an issue
This tracker is maintained by BrynoDC and is free because readers fund it. Support