Tuesday, August 14, 2018

1st Circuit RefusesTo Change District Court's Language Criticizing Anti-LGBT Activist

In Sexual Minorities Uganda v. Lively, (1st Cir., Aug. 10, 2018), the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals refused to purge the opinion of a Massachusetts federal district court of language that harshly criticized the actions of anti-LGBT activist Pastor Scott Lively.  The 1st Circuit said that because Lively had won in the district court, it lacks jurisdiction over an appeal, noting:
federal courts of appeals have no roving writ to review ... a district court's word choices...
The case involved an Alien Tort Statute lawsuit against Lively growing out of his aid to anti-LGBT activists in Uganda. The district court held that there had been insufficient conduct in the United States to support a suit under the ATS. Courthouse News Service reports on the decision.