Gonzalez v. Trevino
View Official PDFBelow are plain-language sections to help you understand what the Court decided in Gonzalez v. Trevino and why it matters. Quotes are taken from the syllabus (the Court’s short summary at the start of the opinion).
Summary
A short, plain-English overview of Gonzalez v. Trevino.
The Supreme Court vacated the Fifth Circuit's decision in Gonzalez v. Trevino, concerning a retaliatory-arrest claim. The Court found that the Fifth Circuit required an overly specific type of evidence to support the claim under the Nieves exception. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.
Holding
The single most important “bottom line” of what the Court decided in Gonzalez v. Trevino.
The Court held that the Fifth Circuit took an overly cramped view of Nieves by requiring specific comparator evidence for the retaliatory-arrest claim.
Constitutional Concepts
These are the Constitution-related themes that appear in Gonzalez v. Trevino. Click a concept to see other cases that involve the same idea.
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Why Free Speech is relevant to Gonzalez v. Trevino
The case centers on whether Gonzalez's arrest was retaliatory due to her exercise of free speech rights in gathering signatures for a petition.
Syllabus excerpt (verbatim)Gonzalez claims that her arrest for violating a Texas anti-tampering statute was in retaliation for gathering signatures on a petition seeking the removal of the city manager of Castle Hills, Texas.
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Why Procedural Due Process is relevant to Gonzalez v. Trevino
The case involves the procedural fairness of arresting someone for conduct that had not been previously prosecuted under the statute.
Syllabus excerpt (verbatim)Gonzalez provided a permissible type of evidence because the fact that no one has ever been arrested for engaging in a certain kind of conduct makes it more likely that an officer has declined to arrest someone for engaging in such conduct in the past.
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Why Equal Protection is relevant to Gonzalez v. Trevino
The Nieves exception involves comparing the treatment of similarly situated individuals, which relates to equal protection principles.
Syllabus excerpt (verbatim)The existence of probable cause does not defeat a plaintiff's claim if he produces 'objective evidence that he was arrested when otherwise similarly situated individuals not engaged in the same sort of protected speech had not been.'
Key Quotes
Short excerpts from the syllabus in Gonzalez v. Trevino that support the summary and concepts above.
The Court recognized the Nieves exception to account for 'circumstances where officers have probable cause to make arrests, but typically exercise their discretion not to do so.'
Gonzalez provided a permissible type of evidence because the fact that no one has ever been arrested for engaging in a certain kind of conduct makes it more likely that an officer has declined to arrest someone for engaging in such conduct in the past.
42 F. 4th 487, vacated and remanded.
