‘Alligator Alcatraz’ First Amendment Claims Switch US Courts (1)

Detainees at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility can continue their lawsuit claiming state and federal officials violated the First Amendment by barring confidential attorney-client communications, but they must do so in a different federal court.

The state officials’ alleged First Amendment violations “clearly stem from actions that take place in the Middle District of Florida,” Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida said in a Monday order.

Ruiz also dismissed the detainees’ claim that the Trump administration violated the Fifth Amendment by failing to identify an immigration court with ...