Episode Details

Olivier v. City of Brandon | Sidewalk Sermon Suit over Section 1983 | Argument Date: 12/3/25 | Date Decided: 3/20/26

In Olivier versus City of Brandon, Mississippi, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a person previously convicted under a law can still sue in federal court to stop that law's future enforcement. Justice Kagan wrote for the full Court. No concurrences. No dissents.

Link to Docket: Here.

Question Presented:

1. Can someone who already received a criminal conviction under a law still sue in federal court to stop that law's future enforcement — or does a 1994 Supreme Court precedent called Heck versus Humphrey permanently close that door?
2. Does Heck versus Humphrey block a federal civil rights lawsuit even when the person suing never had the ability to challenge their conviction through the normal imprisonment-challenge process — called habeas corpus — in the first place?

Holding: 9-0. A person who previously received a criminal conviction under a law can still sue in federal court to stop that law's future enforcement.

Rationale:

1. Olivier sought future relief — not to undo his conviction.
2. Heck targets backward-looking attacks on convictions, not forward-looking injunctions.
3. Wooley versus Maynard already resolved this question in 1977.

Result: Reversed.

Voting Breakdown: Justice Kagan delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. No concurrences. No dissents.

Link to Opinion: Here.

Oral Advocates:

1. For Petitioner (Olivier): Allyson N. Ho, Dallas, TX.
2. For United States (as Amicus Curiae) in Support of Vacatur: Ashley Robertson, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice.
3. For Respondents (City of Brandon): G. Todd Butler, Flowood, MS argued for Respondents.