1st Amendment Violation Standing to Sue.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: J.B., et al., v. Tiffany Woodard, et al.,

Case No.: 20-1212

Officials: WOOD, SCUDDER, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: 1st Amendment Violation Standing to Sue

This case began as a divorce and child custody dispute in state court. After an allegation surfaced that Edwin Bush had choked his son, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services launched an investigation, and Bush's then-wife Erika successfully sought a court order suspending Bush's parenting time. Bush then turned to federal court and filed this lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 on behalf of himself and his children, alleging violations of their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and claiming that DCFS employees' conduct set off a series of events culminating in a state court order infringing on his and his kids' right to familial association. The state defendants successfully moved to dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The district court concluded that Bush and his children not only lacked standing to bring a constitutional...