Phelps Defends Mississippi City Ordinance at the U.S. Supreme Court

On Dec. 3, G. Todd Butler, managing partner of Phelps' Jackson office, and associate Mallory Bland appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of their client, the City of Brandon, Mississippi, in Gabriel Olivier v. City of Brandon, No. 24-993.

At issue was whether a 1994 Supreme Court decision, Heck v. Humphrey, barred protestor Gabriel Olivier from bringing a federal civil rights challenge to an ordinance under which he was convicted.

In 2019, the City passed an ordinance regulating protests and demonstrations around its amphitheater. Olivier violated the ordinance and was arrested. He pled no contest but then filed a Section 1983 claim against the City and police chief, seeking money damages, a declaration, and an injunction to facially invalidate the ordinance and block future enforcement.  After the district court dismissed the case, Olivier disclaimed the claim against the police chief and stated he no longer sought damages on appeal.

The Supreme Court accepted this case to examine two issues:

• Whether Heck v. Humphrey bars claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking purely prospective relief where the plaintiff was previously convicted of violating the law challenged as unconstitutional.           
• Whether Heck v. Humphrey bars Section 1983 claims by plaintiffs even where they never had access to federal habeas relief.

As the case progressed through the federal courts, Phelps successfully defended the City at the district court and Fifth Circuit. Both held that Olivier’s Section 1983 lawsuit was barred due to the prior criminal conviction.

Todd urged the Court to affirm the prior rulings and hold that Olivier’s suit was barred under Heck v. Humphrey. “Although [Olivier] claims the courthouse doors are closed,” Butler said, “that argument ignores the countless doors [Olivier] chose not to enter.” “In addition to precedent, longstanding and deeply rooted principles of federalism, finality, comity, and consistency require rejection of [Olivier’s] proposed new rule.” 

Todd and Mallory are appellate lawyers, who regularly represent clients in state and federal courts at the trial and appellate levels.

A decision is expected before the Supreme Court’s term ends this summer. The argument can be found here.