The Invisible Man and His Visible Victim

SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb comments on a movie some have described as one of the best of 2020, The Invisible Man, and describes how the story in the movie offers possibilities for envisioning accountability for domestic violence and other crimes that often receive dismissive treatment under the heading of “he said/she said.” Professor Colb briefly describes the plot of the movie (including spoilers), and explains why the movie is so revelatory.

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Hurd v. Fredenburgh

Docket: 19-3482

Opinion Date: January 12, 2021

Judge: Richard C. Wesley

Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law

Plaintiff filed suit against defendant, a New York State prison official, alleging that she violated his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by keeping him imprisoned based upon sentencing errors that incarcerated him for almost a year past the date on which state law mandated his release. The Second Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the complaint, but agreed with the district court's reasoning only in part. The court held that, contrary to the district court's determination, plaintiff alleged a harm of constitutional magnitude under the Eighth Amendment because New York State lacked authority to detain him past his mandatory conditional release date. The court also held that plaintiff has a liberty interest in his right to conditional release protected by the Fourteenth Amendment's substantive due process clause, and the district court erred in concluding otherwise. Because neither of these rights was clearly established at the time, the court held that defendant is entitled to qualified immunity for any responsibility she may have had for plaintiff's prolonged detention.