Case law

Morris v. Town of Lexington Alabama

748 F.3d 1316 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · May 21, 2014

“The doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials ‘from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable … rights were “clearly established” when the defendant committed the act complained of.

George v. Beaver County

32 F.4th 1246 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · May 3, 2022

In the qualified-immunity context, “[a] clearly established right is one that is sufficiently clear that every reasonable official would have understood that what he is doing violates that right.” Cummings v. … Thus, Rose’s conduct did not violate clearly established law, and he is entitled to qualified immunity. The district court properly granted summary judgment to the County, Noel, and Rose.

Landers v. Adelstein

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Sep 8, 2021

“The grant of a motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity similarly is reviewed de novo.” Whitley v. Hanna, 726 F.3d 631, 637 (5th Cir. 2013). … His assertions that Adelstein was not entitled to qualified immunity fail as he cannot establish the denial of a constitutional right.

Darryl Leon Rouse v. William Plantier, Acting Superintendent of A.D.T.C. Sally S. Scheidemantel, Resigning Superintendent of A.D.T.C. William H. Fauver, Commissioner of N.J. Department of Corrections Governor Jim Florio, State of New Jersey Dr. Robert Cardinale, Medical Director of A.D.T.C. Dr. Narshima Reddy, Attending Physician of A.D.T.C. Ms. Elaine Martin, Chief Nurse of A.D.T.C. Captain Helmkin, Housing Mike Zell, Director of Social Services Dr. Sandoval, Attending Psychologist of A.D.T.C. Dr. Cattone, M.D., St. Francis Hospital Scott Faunce Dr. Tarlian, M.D. Dr. O'bryne, M.D. Dr. Todd, M.D., St. Francis Hospital Charles Brooks, on Behalf of a Class of Themselves and Others Similarly Situated Stephen Jankowski, on Behalf of a Class of Themselves and Others Similarly Situated Julio Baez, on Behalf of a Class of Themselves and Others Similarly Situated Robert Kammerer, on Behalf of a Class of Themselves and Others Similarly Situated v. Elaine Allen John Doe Jane Roe William Plantier Robert Cardinale Narshima Reddy Elaine Allen

182 F.3d 192 · Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · Jun 29, 1999

Turning to defendants' qualified immunity defense, the District Court held that the right at issue was clearly established and that the defendants had failed to demonstrate the reasonableness of their actions. … immunity, it is necessary to determine whether a reasonable official in the position of that defendant would have known that his or her actions were unconstitutional in light of the clearly established law and the information

Blissett v. Coughlin

66 F.3d 531 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Sep 25, 1995

In the context of the claims in this case, qualified immunity affords government officials a two-tier defense “from liability from civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional … Consistent with their pretrial posture, Appellants made no further effort to establish a qualified immunity defense following the colloquy.

Wesley Brayman v. Mark Shepherd

Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Sep 4, 1996

of clearly established law.'" … Gilley, 500 U.S. 226, 231 (1991) (holding that the first inquiry in a proper qualified immunity analysis is whether the plaintiff alleged the violation of a clearly established constitutional right).

Harvey Lucious Hall v. George Lombardi William Armontrout, Warden Donald Cline

996 F.2d 954 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Aug 11, 1993

In determining whether the appellants are protected by qualified immunity, we must first decide “the essentially legal question whether the conduct of which [Hall] complains violated clearly established law,” and then we … The test “focuses on the objective legal reasonableness of an official’s acts,” and the qualified immunity defense fails if the official violates a clearly established right because “a reasonably competent public official

Baribeau v. City of Minneapolis

596 F.3d 465 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Feb 24, 2010

The doctrine of qualified immunity protects the officers from personal liability under § 1983 “insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established ... constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have … Under the doctrine of qualified immunity, a county employee may be held personally liable for a constitutional violation only if his own conduct violated a clearly established constitutional right.

Collins v. Jordan

110 F.3d 1363 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Dec 4, 1996

Thus, we have jurisdiction to consider Hongisto’s legal contention that he is entitled to qualified immunity because the law was not clearly established that, given the events of the previous day, an order to ban all demonstrations … Such conduct would violate clearly established First and Fourth Amendment rights.

Jennifer Harmon v. Second Judicial Circuit of the State of Missouri

Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Jan 13, 2025

The court concluded that the Government Defendants were entitled to qualified immunity because Harmon failed to show that any constitutional violation was clearly established. … Because Harmon failed to show that the alleged substantive due process violations were clearly established, the Government Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity for the § 1983 claims.

Debera MacE Individually and as Representative of the Estate of Jacob Vincent Revill, Deceased v. City of Palestine Pat Henderson

333 F.3d 621 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jul 24, 2003

Qualified immunity protects officers from suit unless their conduct violates a clearly established constitutional right. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818 , 102 S.Ct. 2727 , 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982). … Claims of qualified immunity require a two-step analysis.

Hinton v. City of Elwood

997 F.2d 774 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Jun 29, 1993

Since this conclusion is sufficient to support the district court’s finding of qualified immunity, we need not reach the issue of whether the law was clearly established at the time Myer and White’s conduct occurred. … In Medina we determined that the individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity because the law was not clearly established, 960 F.2d at 1498-99 , and in Watson we remanded for a finding on that *783 issue, 857

Haley v. City of Boston

657 F.3d 39 · Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Sep 19, 2011

If "it is plain that a constitutional right is not clearly established," a court may grant the requested immunity without undertaking the "essentially academic exercise" of ascertaining whether … The upshot, then, is that, by 1972, the relevant right was clearly established.

Joseph Williams v. City of Sparks

112 F.4th 635 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Aug 9, 2024

of their conduct was ‘clearly established at the time.’” … A municipality is not entitled to assert the defense of qualified immunity. See id.

Bellotte v. Edwards

629 F.3d 415 · Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · Jan 11, 2011

Kennedy, 349 F.3d 731, 743 (4th Cir.2003), we affirm the district court’s holding that this no-knock entry violated the Bellottes’ clearly established constitutional rights and does not warrant an award of qualified immunity … Because we have jurisdiction over the denial of a claim for qualified immunity on summary judgment only “to the extent that the official maintains that the official’s conduct did not violate clearly established law,” Winfield

Thomas Richard Brown v. Frank D'Amico

35 F.3d 97 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Sep 12, 1994

Qualified immunity shields arresting officers from personal liability for damages “insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known … We hold that D’Amico is entitled to qualified immunity because this right was not clearly established in December 1986 when he applied for an arrest warrant (nor indeed is it clearly established even now).

Ricardo Salazar-Limon v. City of Houston

826 F.3d 272 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jun 16, 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.”

Curtis Morton v. City of Little Rock Phillip Wilson, and Ronnie Gatewood, Individually and in Their Official Capacities

934 F.2d 180 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · May 30, 1991

, (3) Wilson’s misconduct was negligent rather than intentional, and (4) plaintiff’s claims against Gatewood in his individual capacity were barred by qualified immunity and quasi-judicial immunity. … To avoid summary judgment based on qualified immunity, plaintiff must show that at the time of Gatewood's action or inaction, the specific right at issue was so clearly established that any reasonable law enforcement officer

Mocek v. City of Albuquerque

813 F.3d 912 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Dec 22, 2015

A circuit split will not satisfy the clearly established prong of qualified immunity. But even if we were persuaded by Tobey, Mocek has made no compelling argument as to why its logic should apply here. … Jurisdiction 10 Although qualified immunity shields municipal employees where the law is not clearly established, this defense does not apply to municipalities themselves. Cordova v.

Mark v. Shoen Edward J. Shoen v. Leonard Samuel Shoen Christina G. Shoen, Ronald J. Watkins, Witness-Appellant

48 F.3d 412 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Feb 15, 1995

Hayes, 408 U.S. 665 , 92 S.Ct. 2646 , 33 L.Ed.2d 626 (1972), as establishing a qualified privilege for journalists against compelled disclosure of information gathered in the course of their work. … As a result, Leonard Shoen’s September 1991 statements, if any, regarding his attitude toward plaintiffs are not clearly relevant to an important issue in this litigation. 1 Although plaintiffs’ failure to establish clear