Case law

Gerald Stephens v. Thomas Tolbert

471 F.3d 1173 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Dec 5, 2006

Stephens argues, and Tolbert and Duarte do not contest, that the State of Florida never established in Florida state court that probable cause existed to arrest Stephens for burglary or possession of proceeds from a burglary … In a motion for summary judgment, Tolbert and Duarte asserted qualified immunity as a defense and contended that probable cause or arguable probable cause existed to arrest Stephens for use of an improper vehicle license

In Re: Gary Burke, Pamela Burke, Debtors. State of Georgia Department of Revenue v. Gary Burke Pamela Burke, in Re Raymond D. Headrick, Cynthia J. Headrick, Debtors. The State of Georgia, Department of Revenue v. Raymond D. Headrick Cynthia J. Headrick

146 F.3d 1313 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jul 22, 1998

However, there are certain well-established exceptions to Eleventh Amendment immunity. First, a state may waive its Eleventh Amendment immunity and consent to suit in federal court. See Atascadero State Hosp. v. … in the Georgia Constitution. 9 Subsection (f) of article I, section 2, paragraph 9 of the Georgia Constitution clearly provides that the constitution's limited waiver of sovereign immunity does not include the State's Eleventh

Andrew Pears v. Arnold Oliver, III

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Feb 5, 2026

Because Oliver violated Pears’s clearly established constitutional right to be free from excessive force, he is not entitled to qualified immunity. IV. … CONCLUSION We AFFIRM the denial of qualified immunity.

United States v. Mervyn Harold Cross A/K/A Eric Cross, and Robert Carter Lodge

928 F.2d 1030 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Apr 16, 1991

The proof at trial clearly showed that Cross had no reason to, and in fact did not, infer from this stray, incorrect comment that he henceforth had license to establish a pornographic enterprise. 49 . … Cross's duplicity in this matter clearly indicates he was aware that he had no valid immunity agreement with law enforcement officials. 51 .

Tommia Dean v. Neil Warren

12 F.4th 1248 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Sep 2, 2021

For instance, how many members of the qualifying class (or is it a percentage?) must be on the defendant’s side of the issue before a plaintiff becomes unable to establish animus? And how are we to determine that? … But, as this case demonstrates, even when Bray’s qualifying class requirement is clearly met, applying Bray’s framework is vexing nonetheless because of Bray’s second inquiry.

Steven Dewitt v. Ceressa Haney

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · May 12, 2025

Qualified immunity shields officials from civil liability “so long as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known … We may affirm a grant of qualified immunity by addressing either prong or both. Id.

Howard v. Slicker, Jr. v. Jackson

215 F.3d 1225 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jun 21, 2000

The district court did not err in finding that the officers were not entitled to qualified immunity. … "Qualified immunity protects from civil liability government officials who perform discretionary functions if the conduct of the officials does not violate 'clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which

Peter Norwood Popham, Cross-Appellant v. City of Kennesaw, a Municipal Corporation, Robert Ruble Dwaine Wilson Kenneth Carter, and Mike Saine, Cross-Appellees. Peter Norwood Popham, Cross-Appellee v. City of Kennesaw, a Municipal Corporation, Robert Ruble, Dwaine Wilson, Kenneth Carter, and Mike Saine, Cross-Appellants

820 F.2d 1570 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jul 15, 1987

However, in response to Special Interrogatory 4, the jury found that the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity. … Although the court never explicitly instructed the jury that the qualified immunity claim did not apply to the excessive force claim, the court's subsequent explanation of the verdict form did not clearly contradict the effect

Steven Ray Franks, Pamela S. Franks v. J.A. Bolden, Davis G. Nye, Paul Townsel, John Butler, Ernie Ball, and Jerry Campbell

774 F.2d 1552 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Nov 4, 1985

The acts in question here were clearly operational in nature; 3 indeed, the defendants do not even claim that any real policy considerations were implicated. … Because the defendants do not raise the issue on appeal, we do not decide whether Franks established the existence of the first factor — existence of legal duty — with respect to all six defendants.

Buchanan v. Anson

585 F. App'x 991 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Sep 25, 2014

Marine Resources gathers information through surveying and other methods for the purpose of managing recreational fishing activities, such as establishing harvest seasons and setting quantity and size limits. … Third, they assert that Defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity on the individual-capacity claims. A. Defendants argue that we should not hear this appeal for procedural reasons.

Russell E. Adkins, M.D. v. Arthur P. Christie

488 F.3d 1324 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jun 12, 2007

In May 2004, Defendants sought dismissal of Adkins’ complaint for failure to state a claim on qualified immunity grounds. … The district court converted this motion into one for summary judgment and initially allowed discovery on issues relating to qualified immunity only.

Timothy Clark v. City of Atlanta, Georgia

544 F. App'x 848 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Nov 15, 2013

clearly established at the time of the violation. … Because we find no constitutional violation, we need not reach the clearly established prong of the qualified immunity analysis.

Howard v. Slicker, Jr. v. Jackson

215 F.3d 1225 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jun 21, 2000

The district court did not err in finding that the officers were not entitled to qualified immunity. … “Qualified immunity protects from civil liability government officials who perform discretionary functions if the conduct of the officials does not violate ‘clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which

Tug Capt. Fred v. FL Dept./Environ.

91 F.3d 1445 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Aug 20, 1996

Like a public official's qualified immunity, a state's Eleventh Amendment immunity is "an entitlement not to stand trial or face the other burdens of litigation." Mitchell v. … The fact that Eleventh Amendment immunity, like qualified immunity, is a right to be free from the burdens of litigation also suggests that it should be decided at an early stage.

Ronald Jay v. Joshua Ken Hendershott

579 F. App'x 948 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Sep 17, 2014

Because we disagree that the law on this issue was clearly established, we reverse the district court’s denial of qualified immunity. … “A motion to dismiss a complaint on qualified immunity grounds will be granted if the ‘complaint fails to allege the violation of a clearly established constitutional right.’” Griffin Indus., Inc. v.

Joseph Heid v. Mark Rutkoski

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jul 10, 2025

On appeal, they contend that the District Court erred in denying them qualified immunity because Heid failed to show they violated a constitutional right or that any such right was clearly established … the Court determines there is a genuine factual dispute as to whether Best and Rutkoski unconstitutionally subjected [Heid] to excessive force in violation of clearly established law.”

Luis P. Rodriguez v. Richard Burdick

669 F. App'x 519 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Sep 22, 2016

2  Case: 15-13042 Date Filed: 09/22/2016 Page: 3 of 4 qualified immunity on all claims in Count VIII. … I respectfully dissent as to the conclusion that Defendant Wolf is not also entitled to qualified immunity as a matter of law.

Joanne Dixon v. Burke County, Georgia

303 F.3d 1271 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Aug 29, 2002

The Court reasoned that both Perry and Craig were entitled to qualified immunity. … Perry and Craig While the District Court addressed the issue of Perry’s and Craig’s § 1983 exposure under the heading of qualified immunity, we see it as relating more to the merits of Dixon’s cause of action.

Rafael Cendan v. Officer Jose Trujillo

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Sep 4, 2026

In our circuit, “[a] right may be clearly established for quali- fied immunity purposes in one of three ways: (1) case law with in- distinguishable facts clearly establishing the constitutional right; (2) … established law sufficient to overcome qualified immunity, the district court was correct to grant summary judgment to the officers.

John Daniel Blue v. Maria Deguadalupe Lopez

901 F.3d 1352 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Aug 28, 2018

, and her conduct did not violate Blue’s clearly established rights. … probable cause from the facts of the case and that she was entitled to qualified immunity.