Case law

Moldowan v. City of Warren

573 F.3d 309 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Jul 23, 2009

Defendants’ Qualified Immunity Claims Generally speaking, the rationale underlying the qualified immunity doctrine is that, “where an official’s duties legitimately require action in which clearly established rights are not … qualified immunity.

Karen Downard v. Russell Martin

968 F.3d 594 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Jul 31, 2020

To overcome a defendant’s assertion of qualified immunity, a plaintiff must show both (1) that the defendant violated a constitutional right, and (2) that the right was clearly established at the time of the violation. … “When federal qualified immunity and Ohio state-law immunity under § 2744.03(A)(6) rest on the same questions of material fact, we may review the state-law immunity defense ‘through the lens of the federal qualified immunity

Laurie Range v. Kenneth Douglas

763 F.3d 573 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Aug 15, 2014

Qualified Immunity for Kersker and Dr. … To determine whether qualified immunity applies, we ask whether 1) “considering the allegations in a light most favorable to the party injured, a constitutional right has been violated,” and 2) “that right was clearly established

Weaver v. Shadoan

340 F.3d 398 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Aug 13, 2003

Qualified immunity is “an immunity from suit rather than a mere defense to liability; and like an absolute immunity, it is effectively lost if a case is erroneously permitted to go to trial.” … Because Plaintiff did not satisfy the first prong of the qualified immunity analysis, we need not address whether the right was clearly established.

Craig Mills v. Matthew Cvitkovich

Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Oct 31, 2025

The district court gave short shrift to the clearly-established law analysis. … And in such cases, officers are entitled to qualified immunity.

Eduardo Jacobs v. Raymon Alam

915 F.3d 1028 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Feb 8, 2019

Ct. 2003 (2017) (per curiam), and even if they are, the district court erred in denying them qualified immunity. … Page 12 well-established that ‘a defendant challenging the denial of summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds must be willing to concede the most favorable view of the facts to the plaintiff for purposes of the appeal

Daryl Bennett v. Jeremy Krakowski

671 F.3d 553 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Nov 18, 2011

However, it is well-established that an order denying qualified immunity to a public official is immediately appealable pursuant to the “collateral order” doctrine, Harrison, 539 F.3d at 521, “to the extent that a summary … judgment order denies qualified immunity based on a pure issue of law.”

Charles Kostrzewa v. City of Troy

247 F.3d 633 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Apr 23, 2001

This circuit has held that the right to be free from excessive force, including “excessively forceful handcuffing,” is a clearly established right for purposes of the qualified immunity analysis. … As this circuit has analyzed the qualified immunity issue in excessive force cases, the question of whether the reasonable officer would have known his conduct violated clearly established constitutional rights can be answered

Daniel Simmonds v. Genesee County

Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Jun 19, 2012

To satisfy the first Saucier prong and establish a constitutional violation to defeat the officers’ claim of qualified immunity, Simmonds “is obliged to present facts which if true would constitute a violation of clearly … the violation of the constitutional right was clearly established. 533 U.S. at 201.

Mark A. Criss v. The City of Kent Rick Haury, Officer, Kent City Police Department

867 F.2d 259 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Dec 28, 1988

The Supreme Court has clearly stated that discovery in litigation against government officials should be halted until the threshold question of immunity is resolved. See Harlow v. … The probable cause issue to be resolved by the District Court on the summary judgment motion in this case disposed of the qualified immunity question.

Buck Ryan v. David Blackwell

979 F.3d 519 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Nov 3, 2020

Furthermore, because Ryan failed to allege a violation of a clearly established constitutional right, he is not able to overcome qualified immunity. II. … The qualified immunity doctrine prevents government actors from being held liable for “conduct [that] does not violate clearly established statutory or 1 An adverse action may occur when there is a significant

Oscar Santiago v. Kurt Ringle

734 F.3d 585 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Nov 5, 2013

Qualified Immunity Santiago argues that the district court erred when it granted the doctors qualified immunity. … This court generally asks two questions to determine whether prison officials are entitled to qualified immunity: whether “the plaintiff has shown that a constitutional violation occurred” and whether “the right was clearly

Landon Lane v. City Of Lafollette

490 F.3d 410 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Jun 6, 2007

If the party asserting the injury was deprived of his constitutional rights, then the court must go on to ask whether that right was clearly established. … We cannot, however, determine whether the law clearly established the illegality of Plaintiff's termination without further factual development.

J.C. Flatford v. City Of Monroe

17 F.3d 162 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Feb 22, 1994

To withstand a motion for summary judgment on the ground of qualified immunity, the plaintiff must establish: (1) an alleged violation which implicates clearly established law, and (2) facts sufficient to create a genuine … require action in situations not implicating clearly established rights.

Collins v. Village of New Vienna

29 F. App'x 359 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Feb 6, 2002

On appeal, defendants contend that this case should be remanded to the district court for a ruling on their qualified immunity defense because they accept plaintiffs’ allegations as true, and the qualified immunity defense … actions violated the plaintiffs clearly established constitutional rights as a matter of law.”

Robert Spurlock Ronnie Marshall v. Tommy P. Thompson

330 F.3d 791 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · May 30, 2003

But the alternative of qualifying a prosecutor’s immunity would disserve the broader public interest. … Insofar as the Complaint properly alleges a violation of Plaintiffs' right of access to the courts — a right derived from both the Due Process Clause and the First Amendment — it is clearly established that a violation of

Mustapha Younes v. Christopher Pellerito

739 F.3d 885 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Jan 9, 2014

The officers appeal the district court’s order denying them qualified immunity and state law governmental immunity. … established.”

Ryan Franke v. Kenny Janes

Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Mar 2, 2026

Qualified immunity protects government officials from suits for damages unless a plaintiff shows “(1) that the official violated a statutory or constitutional right, and (2) that the right was ‘clearly established’ at the … Clearly Established Janes did not address the clearly established prong below (other than with general statements of case law), and now on appeal he says Franke’s rights were clearly established.

Bills v. Aseltine

52 F.3d 596 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Apr 26, 1995

The court noted that government officials are entitled to qualified immunity while performing discretionary functions so long as their actions do not violate clearly established rights of which any reasonable official would … action is a violation) violates a clearly established right.

Miller v. Sanilac County

606 F.3d 240 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Jun 4, 2010

But under § 1983, an arresting agent is entitled to qualified immunity if he or she could reasonably (even if erroneously) have believed that the arrest was lawful, in light of clearly established law and the information … This right was “clearly established” for qualified immunity purposes at the time of Miller’s arrest. Id. at 401 .