Derrick Dorrell Turner v. Arkansas Insurance Department, Mike Pickens

The court deduces “clearly established” law from a Supreme Court decision overruled by Congress, four evenly-divided circuit court decisions, and fifteen district court decisions against four. The court’s approach (and its nose count) conflict with earlier cases in our circuit, and I can only wonder what the government and municipal lawyers practicing in our circuit will take from this case.

The court’s reliance on Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 491 U.S. 164, 109 S.Ct. 2363, 105 L.Ed.2d 132 (1989), is deeply troubling since the decision was overruled by Congress in the Civil Rights Act of…