Case law

Eduardo Trejo v. Ivan Perez

693 F.2d 482 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Dec 13, 1982

Although Harlow purports to “defin[e] the limits of qualified immunity essentially in objective terms,” once an official’s conduct has violated clearly established law, Harlow requires him to claim extraordinary circumstances … Of course, if the underlying offense is clearly established, an arrest for its violation without probable cause is a violation of clearly established law. We read Saldana to say no more.

Gentry v. Lowndes County MS

337 F.3d 481 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jul 3, 2003

Qualified Immunity Qualified immunity protects government officials performing discretionary functions from liability as long as their conduct does not violate … “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.”

McIntosh v. Partridge

540 F.3d 315 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Aug 11, 2008

Under Atascadero, Congress must affirmatively and clearly grant jurisdiction to federal courts to abrogate state sovereign immunity. … The evidence on official immunity, as well as that on qualified immunity (and on qualified privilege) appears to be fully developed.

Harris v. Victoria Independent School District

336 F.3d 343 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jul 6, 1999

City of Columbus, Mississippi, 989 F.2d 745, 750 (5th Cir.1993) (holding qualified immunity unavailable because there was no government interest to balance); Click v. … There will rarely be basis for a priori judgment that the termination or discipline of a public employee violated "clearly established” constitutional rights. Noyola, 846 F.2d at 1025 . (emphasis added).

Randy Cole v. Michael Hunter

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Aug 21, 2019

Garner does not formulate “clearly established law” with the degree of specificity required by the Supreme Court’s decisions on qualified immunity. … Ct. at 1776 (“Qualified immunity is no immunity at all if ‘clearly established’ law can simply be defined as the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.”); Wilson v.

Lonnie Elbert Fielder v. August H. Bosshard

590 F.2d 105 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Feb 21, 1979

In order to negate the existence of the official’s immunity, the plaintiff must prove either that the official violated his clearly established constitutional rights or that the official acted “with ‘malicious intention’ … of the qualified immunity.

Randy Cole v. Michael Hunter

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Aug 21, 2019

Garner does not formulate “clearly established law” with the degree of specificity required by the Supreme Court’s decisions on qualified immunity. … Ct. at 1776 (“Qualified immunity is no immunity at all if ‘clearly established’ law can simply be defined as the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.”); Wilson v.

Boddie v. City of Columbus, Miss.

989 F.2d 745 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Apr 14, 1993

Chief Gale argues that he has qualified immunity. … The district court did not err in refusing qualified immunity.3 3 Gale also asserts error in the district court's failure to give his requested jury instruction on qualified immunity.

Ambler v. Nissen

116 F.4th 351 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Sep 10, 2024

We should also extend qualified immunity because the law is not clearly established. … An official does not lose qualified immunity merely because a certain right is clearly established in the abstract.

Michael Baulch, Individually and on Behalf of His Deceased Son Kenneth Baulch O/b/o Kyle Wayne Baulch v. Robert C. Johns, A/K/A Bobby Johns

70 F.3d 813 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Dec 27, 1995

Johns moved for summary judgment, arguing that the doctrine of qualified immunity shielded him from suit. … First, he claims that the Autopsy Report alone is insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact as to his qualified immunity defense.

Beck v. Texas State Board of Dental Examiners

204 F.3d 629 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Mar 3, 2000

In the alternative, the defendants assert that qualified immunity is applicable because the actions taken against Beck did not violate a clearly established constitutional right, and were not objectively unreasonable. … Claims of qualified immunity are reviewed under a two-step analysis. The first question is whether the plaintiff has asserted the violation of a clearly established constitutional right.

Williams v. Texas Tech. University Health Sciences Center

6 F.3d 290 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Oct 22, 1993

The uncertainty about Williams's asserted property right in his entire salary gave the administrators qualified immunity to claims for money damages. … Government officials sued in their individual capacities for money damages enjoy qualified immunity from liability for money damages if their conduct did not violate clearly-established law of which a reasonable official

O'Neal v. Mississippi Board of Nursing

113 F.3d 62 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · May 29, 1997

Discussion The Supreme Court has recognized two kinds of immunity under a § 1983 claim: "qualified immunity" and "absolute immunity." … Under "qualified immunity," government officials are not subject to liability for the performance of their discretionary actions unless their conduct violates clearly 1 In light of plaintiffs' concessions and the

Vera v. Tue

73 F.3d 604 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jan 31, 1996

The court concluded that because the Bonding Company "failed to establish deprivation of a property or liberty interest, Defendant's qualified immunity remains intact, protecting him from liability in this matter." … QUALIFIED IMMUNITY We must determine whether the district court erred in granting Sheriff Tue qualified immunity.

Wallace v. Texas Tech Univ.

80 F.3d 1042 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Apr 9, 1996

immunity because a right to coach-player association as claimed by Wallace was not clearly established at the time of Dickey’s instructions. … F.2d at 1025-26 (discussing qualified immunity).

Suzanne Wooten v. John Roach, Sr.

964 F.3d 395 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jul 6, 2020

, 1 noting that “conclusively establishing official immunity at this stage in the litigation [would] be difficult based on the allegations of this case.” … In addition to the issue of prosecutorial immunity, Defendants urge us to consider qualified and official immunity.

Ricardo Salazar-Limon v. City of Houston

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jun 15, 2016

“In order to overcome a qualified immunity defense, a plaintiff must allege a violation of a constitutional right, and then must show that ‘the right was clearly established . . . in light of the specific context of the case … of which was clearly unreasonable.”

Richard Winfrey, Jr. v. San Jacinto County

882 F.3d 187 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Feb 5, 2018

the right was “clearly established” when the violation occurred. … Still, “negligence alone will not defeat qualified immunity.” Brewer, 860 F.3d at 825.

Finch v. Fort Bend Independent School Dist.

333 F.3d 555 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jun 5, 2003

To deny a summary judgment motion based on qualified immunity, a district court must determine both (1) that certain conduct "violate[d] clearly established statutory rights of which a reasonable person would have known," … Even if the official's conduct violated a clearly established constitutional right, the official is nonetheless entitled to qualified immunity if his conduct was objectively reasonable. See Lukan v. North Forest Indep.

Milburn J. Crowe v. Earl S. Lucas

595 F.2d 985 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jul 27, 1979

The immunity of the police officers in this case is likewise clearly established; they are entitled to a “qualified” or limited degree of immunity under the standards established in Pierson v. … The Supreme Court has never decided whether the immunity accorded to persons in the position of Mayor and Alderman here is an absolute immunity or a “qualified” immunity.