U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented in a case involving a Vermont state police sergeant's use of force against a nonviolent protester, warning that the majority granted officers a 'license to inflict gratuitous pain.' The decision reversed a lower court's ruling denying qualified immunity to Sgt. Jacob Zorn. Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, argued the action violated the Fourth Amendment.
On March 23, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a per curiam decision reversing the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Shela Linton, a protester arrested during a 2015 sit-in at Vermont's capitol advocating for universal healthcare. Linton, co-founder of the Root Social Justice Center, had locked arms with fellow activists inside the legislative chamber after hours, leading to her arrest for trespassing by Vermont State Police Sgt. Jacob Zorn. Zorn applied a 'rear wristlock' for 'pain compliance,' which Linton alleged caused permanent damage to her left wrist and shoulder, as well as PTSD, depression, and anxiety. She further claimed Zorn targeted her 'because I am black' and whispered that 'she should have called her legislator' while applying pressure and lifting her upward. The 2nd Circuit had denied Zorn qualified immunity, finding that his actions could violate Linton's clearly established Fourth Amendment rights against excessive force. However, the Supreme Court majority ruled that no prior 2nd Circuit precedent clearly established such a violation in similar circumstances, granting Zorn immunity. In her dissent, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sotomayor criticized the decision as 'plainly inconsistent' with the Fourth Amendment, which limits force to what is 'necessary' under the circumstances. She wrote, 'The majority today gives officers license to inflict gratuitous pain on a nonviolent protestor even where there is no threat to officer safety or any other reason to do so.' Sotomayor, a former 2nd Circuit judge, argued that existing precedent should have put Zorn on notice against using such force on a peaceful demonstrator.
