The Supreme Court rejected disbarred lawyer Michael Cohen’s attempt to revive a civil rights claim against his former boss, Donald Trump. Cohen had alleged that Trump and other officials violated his rights by placing him in solitary confinement for writing a tell-all book while serving a three-year sentence on charges related to his work for Trump. After refusing to sign a form limiting his speech, Cohen was ordered back to prison but was later released by a federal judge who found officials had retaliated against him. However, the Supreme Court upheld lower court rulings that prevented Cohen from pursuing damages for the alleged violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. This decision was influenced by a 2022 ruling, Egbert v. Boule, that significantly limited the ability to bring civil rights claims against individual federal officials. Many lower court judges have cited this ruling when throwing out similar claims of alleged unconstitutional conduct. The court’s decision in Cohen’s case reflects the recent trend of making it difficult to bring such claims under the 1971 precedent set by Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. As a result, Cohen’s pursuit for damages against Trump and other officials for violations of his rights has been effectively ended by the Supreme Court’s decision.
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Supreme Court dismisses Michael Cohen’s civil rights lawsuit against Trump regarding tell-all book
