No. 19-7899October Term 2019Decided May 18, 2020
Nigl v. Litscher
Nigl filed a petition for a writ of certiorari and a motion to proceed in forma pauperis to the Supreme Court, seeking review of a decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released May 18, 2020
- What it's about
Nigl filed a petition for a writ of certiorari and a motion to proceed in forma pauperis to the Supreme Court, seeking review of a decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Question presented
1. Whether the "neutrality" of a prison regulation under Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401 (1989), depends on the regulation's facial content-neutrality or the government's motive for adopting it. 2. Whether, under Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987), a prison regulation that infringes on First Amendment rights can be upheld as "rationally related" to a legitimate penological interest in the absence of any evidence that the restricted speech actually causes the harms the regulation is intended to prevent.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit / Decision released May 18, 2020
- Area
First Amendment
Documents
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Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Mar 31, 2026
- Method
- Methodology