Case law

Robert Tolan v. Jeffrey Cotton

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Aug 1, 2013

Qualified immunity is applicable unless the official’s conduct violated a clearly established constitutional right. Id. (citing Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640 (1987)). … force against Robbie and Marian and that he did not warrant qualified immunity because the law was so clearly established that an objectively reasonable officer in Cotton’s position would have known that his actions violated

Moore v. Felger

19 F.3d 1054 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Apr 28, 1994

Even under the law as it existed at the time of the search, the inadvertent discovery requirement was not clearly established for the purposes of qualified immunity analysis. … Thus, even if a defunct constitutional right could support a Bivens action, the agents would be entitled to qualified immunity because the right was not clearly established at the time of the search.

Carter v. Dupuy

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Apr 20, 2026

Dupuy and Sheriff Ard moved for summary judgment, asserting qualified immunity. The district court denied their motion. … To overcome qualified immunity, Carter must show “(1) that the official violated a statutory or constitutional right, and (2) that the right was clearly established at the time of the challenged conduct.”

Hare v. City of Corinth, Ms.

36 F.3d 412 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Dec 8, 1994

summary judgment on the grounds of qualified immunity. 13 A. … Clearly Established Constitutional Injury 14 In reviewing the denial of a summary judgment motion based on a claim of qualified immunity, the Supreme Court has taught that the first inquiry is whether the plaintiff has asserted

Randy Cole v. Michael Hunter

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Sep 29, 2015

Clearly established law Under the second prong of the qualified immunity analysis, we ask whether it was clearly established in October 2010 that using deadly force against a person in circumstances like those here … established law, and Officer Carson is entitled to qualified immunity.

Spuler v. Pickar

958 F.2d 103 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · May 15, 1992

Notwithstanding, court challenges associated with denial of tenure persist; and the affirmative qualified immunity defense rests on whether public officials have violated a clearly-established right. … The defendants did not violate any clearly established constitutional rights and were thus entitled to qualified immunity.

Wallace v. Wellborn

204 F.3d 165 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Feb 8, 2000

To establish that the agents are not entitled to summary judgment based on qualified immunity, Wallace must satisfy a three-part test. … The district court held that Wallace had no clearly established constitutional right to a prior adversarial hearing, and the agents were entitled to qualified immunity.

Rykers v. Alford

832 F.2d 895 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Nov 25, 1987

Officer Maurice Fuqua Officer Fuqua is protected by qualified immunity for his official acts, so long as he “does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have … Qualified immunity is an affirmative defense that must be established by the official. Harlow, 457 U.S. at 815 , 102 S.Ct. at 2736 .

Eugene Cantu v. Mathew Jones, Etc., Mathew Jones, Correctional Officer Richard Waltersdorf, Correctional Officer John Beaird, Correctional Officer

293 F.3d 839 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jun 11, 2002

In reviewing a claim of qualified immunity, this Court must determine: “(1) whether the plaintiff has alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right; and, (2) if so, whether the defendant’s conduct was … objectively unreasonable in the light of the clearly established law at the time of the incident.”

Roe v. Texas Department of Protective & Regulatory Services

299 F.3d 395 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jul 17, 2002

In Hope , the Court recently elaborated on what is required for a particular right to be “clearly established” in the context of qualified immunity. … Accordingly, on July 10, 1999, Jackie’s rights, in the context of this case, were not clearly established, so Strickland is entitled to qualified immunity on the claim that she unconstitutionally conducted a visual body cavity

Thomas P. Hughes v. Tarrant County Texas, Hon. Roy English, Dionne Bagsby, Bob Hampton, J.D. Johnson, O.L. Watson, Tim Curry, Ray Rike

948 F.2d 918 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Nov 29, 1991

to qualified immunity. … To do so, would be to require the commissioners, but not the district attorney and his assistant, to know the clearly established law.

Spec's Family Partners, Ltd. v. Executive Director

972 F.3d 671 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Aug 25, 2020

City of Austin, 943 F.3d at 8 Defendants also contend that to the extent they are not entitled to absolute immunity, they are shielded by qualified immunity. … For acts that are not clearly exercises of state sovereign power, the Court has established two requirements relevant to state-action immunity. California Retail Liquor Dealers Ass’n v.

John R. Griffin v. Dick Leonard, U.S.P.O. And Regional Director Vincent

821 F.2d 1124 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jul 17, 1987

for acts performed while engaged in their function to revoke parole. 6 At the very least, it is contended, they are entitled to qualified immunity and subjected to suits only if their conduct violated clearly established … law of which a reasonable person would have known. 7 Griffin contends that federal probation officers are entitled, at most, to qualified immunity and that Leonard’s conduct was unreasonable in the light of clearly established

James White v. Hezikiah Walker, X Bonding Company, and Town of Verona, Mississippi

950 F.2d 972 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Dec 30, 1991

We reverse the district court’s grant of qualified immunity to the officer, but affirm in all other respects. … on qualified immunity.” 12 Accordingly, we reverse the directed verdict based on qualified immunity.

Lollar v. Baker

196 F.3d 603 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Dec 6, 1999

On August 21, the magistrate judge entered an order finding that Baker had stated a claim of a violation of a clearly established statutory or constitutional right, and ordered the stay on discovery to be lifted to allow … To reach this ultimate determination, we must address two underlying questions: (1) Whether, under Mississippi law, Lollar has a clearly established property interest in the noneconomic

McClendon v. City of Columbia

258 F.3d 432 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jul 26, 2001

Qualified Immunity for Carney Even if an official’s conduct violates a constitutional right, he is entitled to qualified immunity if the conduct was objectively reasonable. 21 The objective reasonableness of allegedly illegal … Although generally in cases of qualified immunity we look to the law of this circuit and the Supreme Court to determine whether the applicable law was clearly established at the time of the constitutional violation, we are

Emmanuel Angulo v. Shawn Brown

978 F.3d 942 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Oct 23, 2020

“Qualified immunity shields federal and state officials from money damages unless a plaintiff pleads facts showing (1) that the official violated a statutory or constitutional right, and (2) that the right was clearly … To overcome the officers’ qualified immunity defense on the excessive force claim, Angulo “must show ‘(1) an injury, (2) which resulted directly and only from a use of force that was clearly excessive, and (3) the

Tyson v. County of Sabine

42 F.4th 508 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jul 28, 2022

Deputy Boyd has invoked the defense of qualified immunity. … D In summary, we hold that Deputy Boyd’s alleged sexual abuse violated Tyson’s clearly established right to bodily integrity. Thus, Deputy Boyd is not entitled to qualified immunity.

McVae v. Perez

120 F.4th 487 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Oct 30, 2024

The second prong asks whether that right was “clearly established” at the time of the violation. Id. (citing Tolan, 572 U.S. at 656). … If the answer to either prong is “no,” qualified immunity applies. B.

Terrell v. Harris County

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Aug 16, 2024

Qualified immunity We may affirm the district court on either qualified immunity prong. al-Kidd, 563 U.S. at 735. … We start with Terrell’s prong-two argument that Cannon’s actions were clearly established as unconstitutional.