Case law

Jane Doe v. Petaluma City School District

54 F.3d 1447 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · May 12, 1995

"On review of a denial of qualified immunity, '[w]e have jurisdiction only to decide if defendant's conduct violated ... clearly established [law].' " Pelletier v. … Because qualified immunity is an affirmative defense from suit, not merely from liability, "[u]nless the plaintiff's allegations state a claim of violation of clearly established law, a defendant pleading qualified immunity

Johnson v. Bay Area Rapid Transit District

724 F.3d 1159 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jul 30, 2013

The reasonable officer avoids committing acts that have been clearly established as unconstitutional—for example, handcuffing a prisoner to a fence for a long period of time—as well as other, similar acts, like handcuffing … We note that the specific quantum of force involved in using a Taser was not clearly established at the time that Pirone merely threatened its use, see Bryan v.

Roth v. Veteran's Administration of the Government of the United States

856 F.2d 1401 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Sep 12, 1988

Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 , 102 S.Ct. 2727 , 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), the Supreme Court held that a federal official has qualified immunity unless s/he “violate[s] clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which … of qualified immunity.

Vance v. Barrett

345 F.3d 1083 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Sep 30, 2003

deciding whether the prison officials are entitled to qualified immunity: “(1) Was the law governing the state official’s conduct clearly established? … In 1995, we held that our law regarding retaliation against inmates was clearly established for qualified immunity purposes, see Schroeder v.

James F. Robinson v. Solano County Brian Cauwells, Solano County Sheriff's Deputy Officer Gary Faulkner, Solano County Sheriff's Deputy Officer

218 F.3d 1030 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jul 12, 2000

Qualified immunity “ ‘shield[s] [government agents] from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have … Layne, 526 U.S. 603, 615 , 119 S.Ct. 1692 , 143 L.Ed.2d 818 (1999) (“ ‘clearly established’ ” for purposes of qualified immunity does not mean that “ ‘an official action is pro *1036 tected by qualified immunity unless the

Angel Mendez v. County of Los Angeles

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Mar 2, 2016

The court also held that its conclusions in each respect were supported by clearly established law and that the officers were not entitled to qualified immunity. … In the absence of clearly established law that squarely governs the situation here, qualified immunity is appropriate on the knock-and-announce claim. Id. at 309.

Rafael Navarro v. Sherman Block

250 F.3d 729 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · May 11, 2001

After reviewing the legal standards for qualified immunity, the court held: 9 [T]he law is not clearly established that a policy of indemnifying punitive damage awards violates constitutional rights . . . . … Though much of the analysis under qualified immunity and the merits of a §§ 1983 claim overlaps, the issue of whether a right is "clearly established " is relevant only to qualified immunity. 11 Regardless, the explicit holding

Debbie Floyd v. Larry Laws, and City of Sherwood, a Municipal Corporation

929 F.2d 1390 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Apr 30, 1991

Because these rights are clearly established, Floyd contends, defendant Laws was not entitled to a jury instruction on qualified immunity. … If Floyd’s line of reasoning were correct, then any plaintiff could preclude her opponent’s qualified immunity defense simply by alleging violations of clearly established constitutional rights.

Jeffers v. Gomez

240 F.3d 845 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Feb 20, 2001

Determining whether a public official is entitled to qualified immunity “requires a two-part inquiry: (1) Was the law governing the state official’s conduct clearly established? … The district court correctly determined that the first prong of the qualified immunity inquiry—whether the law governing Appellants’ conduct was clearly established—had been met.

Jackson v. City of Bremerton

268 F.3d 646 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Oct 5, 2001

The defense of qualified immunity, however, protects § 1983 defendants from liability for civil damages when performing discretionary functions, unless such conduct violates a clearly established constitutional or statutory … In considering the merits of a qualified immunity defense in excessive force cases, courts previously considered whether the right was clearly established and, if so, whether, in light of such clearly established law, a reasonable

96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9203, 97 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 1350, 96 Daily Journal D.A.R. 15,215, 97 Daily Journal D.A.R. 2025 James Senator Marks Tommy Marks David Marks v. John R. Clarke William F. Grub Stephen W. Keane Michael Lavelle Gerald R. Poindexter Robert Vanleuven Ralph C. Weir, James Senator Marks Tommy Marks David Marks, Gypsy Church of the Northwest v. John R. Clarke William F. Grub Stephen W. Keane Michael Lavelle Gerald R. Poindexter Robert Vanleuven Ralph C. Weir, and Robert G. Bailor Denise E. Coker Monte E. Gaunt Donald E. Johnson Richard J. Poole Nicolis E. Stanley Michael F. Yates, James Senator Marks Tommy Marks David Marks v. John R. Clarke William F. Grub Stephen W. Keane Michael Lavelle Gerald R. Poindexter Robert Vanleuven Ralph C. Weir, and City of Spokane Robert Allen Earl L. Ennis Lawrence R. Freeman Clifford Harding Kenneth R. Krogh Larry M. Lindskog Jack E. Neumiller Andrew J. Pavlischak Sheldon Reeve, Gypsy Church of the Northwest v. Spokane County, and John R. Clarke William F. Grub Stephen W. Keane Michael Lavelle Gerald R. Poindexter Robert Vanleuven Ralph C. Weir, Gypsy Church of the Northwest v. Spokane County, and Robert G. Bailor Denise E. Coker Monte E. Gaunt Donald E. Johnson Richard J. Poole Nicolis E. Stanley Michael F. Yates, Gypsy Church of the Northwest v. Spokane County, and City of Spokane Robert Allen Earl L. Ennis Lawrence R. Freeman Clifford Harding Kenneth R. Krogh Larry M. Lindskog Jack E. Neumiller Andrew J. Pavlischak Sheldon Reeve, Gypsy Church of the Northwest, and Grover Marks v. Detective Rick Grabenstein

102 F.3d 1012 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Feb 26, 1997

Once again, under the clearly established law of Ybarra v. … inspection at that location did not violate clearly established law.

Bull v. City and County of San Francisco

539 F.3d 1193 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Aug 22, 2008

Defendants now appeal *1196 the district court’s denial of qualified immunity for Sheriff Hennessey. 5 II We review de novo a district court’s decision to grant summary judgment on the ground of qualified immunity. … court’s denial of qualified immunity.

J. J. v. City of San Diego

42 F.4th 990 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Nov 15, 2021

Prong one of this test is therefore not satisfied, and qualified immunity applies on that basis. Prong two, the clearly established prong, confirms this result. … Thus, unless J.K.J. can show that on the date the officers encountered Jenkins, it was clearly established that their conduct was unlawful, qualified immunity applies also under prong two.

Thomas v. Hurley

51 F. App'x 694 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Nov 21, 2002

We agree that Hurley and Spanski are entitled to qualified immunity. … Therefore, Hurley and Spanski are entitled to qualified immunity. 1 AFFIRMED.

Noelle Way v. County of Ventura Robert Brooks Karen Hanson, and Robert Ortiez, Ventura Police Officer

445 F.3d 1157 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Apr 20, 2006

It denied qualified immunity to Brooks and Hanson on the basis of Giles v. … If so, “the next, sequential step is to ask whether the right was clearly established.” Id.

Mitchell Garraway v. Jacquiline Ciufo

113 F.4th 1210 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Sep 3, 2024

As the Supreme Court stated in Mitchell: The conception animating the qualified immunity doctrine . . . is that where an official’s duties legitimately require action in which clearly established … And, of course, there’s a class of Bivens cases where raising a qualified immunity defense would be frivolous. Qualified immunity is only available when the constitutional law is not “clearly established.” See Wilk v.

Estate of Alvarado ex rel. Alvarado v. Shavatt

673 F. App'x 777 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jan 18, 2017

Government officials are entitled to qualified immunity from suits for damages unless (1) a plaintiff alleges facts that make out a constitutional violation, and (2) the right at issue was clearly established at the time … Because we reverse on this ground, we do not address Shavatt’s arguments about whether the right at issue was clearly established.

Matt Moonin v. Kevin Tice

868 F.3d 853 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Aug 22, 2017

We must grant Tice qualified immunity unless Moonin can show that Tice “violated a statutory or constitutional right that was clearly established at the time of the challenged conduct.” City of San Francisco v. … The City previously had required officers to obtain prior written 8 We emphasize that we are here considering only the clearly established law prong of qualified immunity, not whether requiring notice or approval

Gary Beavers v. James Edgerton

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jul 18, 2019

“the law regarding a prison guard’s use of excessive force was clearly established by 1994”); see also Blankenhorn v. … Regardless, it is “clearly established that the officers [may] not intentionally deny or delay access to medical care” to pretrial detainees. Clement v.

Mena v. City of Simi Valley

332 F.3d 1255 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jun 23, 2003

They argue that the district court erred in ruling that they are not entitled to qualified immunity. … Qualified Immunity Muehler and Brill argue' that they should be shielded from liability to Mena under the doctrine of qualified immunity. 2 “Qualified immunity is an entitlement not to stand trial or face the other burdens