American Civil Liberties Union v. City of Chicago

NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with
Fed. R. App. P. 32.1
United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Submitted July 9, 2009
Decided July 13, 2009
Before
FRANK H. EASTERBROOK , Chief Judge
WILLIAM J. BAUER, Circuit Judge
RICHARD A. POSNER, Circuit Judge
Nos. 08-3688 & 08-3689 Appeals from the United
States District Court for the
ALLIANCE TO END REPRESSION, et al., Northern District of Illinois,
Plaintiffs-Appellees, Eastern Division.
v. Nos. 74-C-3268 & 75-C-3295
Joan B. Gottschall, Judge.
C ITY OF C HICAGO,
Defendant-Appellant.
Order
While this appeal was pending, the district court asked for a remand under
Circuit Rule 57 so that it could vacate the consent decree with all parties’ approval. We
granted the joint motion to remand, adding: “After the district court has vacated the
consent decree, the notices of appeal should be dismissed under Fed. R. App. P. 42(b).”
The district court vacated the consent decree, but the City of Chicago did not file
a motion to dismiss the appeals under Rule 42(b). Instead it has asked us to dismiss the
appeals as moot, and to vacate the district court’s orders that were the object of the
appeal. Because the district court has itself vacated the consent decree, there is no
justification for this court to vacate any earlier orders in the case. To the extent that the
vacatur reflects the litigants’ mutual agreement, the considerations discussed in U.S.
Nos. 08-3688 & 08-3689 Page 2
Bancorp Mortgage Co. v. Bonner Mall Partnership, 513 U.S. 18 (1994), show that no further
appellate action is warranted. The appeals are dismissed. The parties will bear their own
costs.