Case law

Swanson v. Powers

937 F.2d 965 · Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · Jun 25, 1991

The requirement, after all, is that the law be clearly established, not simply possibly established or even probably established. … The right to due process, for example, might be considered clearly established because of the Constitution's Due Process Clause; however, "if the test of 'clearly established law' were to be applied at this level of generality

Smith v. Reddy

101 F.3d 351 · Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · Nov 27, 1996

Law enforcement officers are entitled to qualified immunity from § 1983 liability arising from their official discretionary acts that do not "violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of … If the right was not clearly established at the relevant time or if a reasonable officer might not have known his or her conduct violated that right, the officer is entitled to immunity.

Jolene Waldron v. Gregory Spicher

954 F.3d 1297 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Mar 25, 2020

ANALYSIS “Qualified immunity protects government officials from liability for civil damages unless they violate a statutory or constitutional right that was clearly established at the time the alleged violation took … The district court denied the deputy’s invocation of qualified immunity, and we reversed.

Shinault v. Hawks

782 F.3d 1053 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jan 22, 2015

Yet, we ultimately affirm on the basis of qualified immunity because the constitutional obligation was not clearly established at the time of the conduct. 1 FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Lester Shinault was incarcerated … the right was not clearly established at the time of conduct.

Jerica Moore-Jones v. Anthony Quick

909 F.3d 983 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Nov 28, 2018

Quick is entitled to qualified immunity unless his “conduct violated a clearly established constitutional or statutory right of which a reasonable officer would have known.” Cravener v. … The district court erred in concluding Moore-Jones’s right was clearly established. Quick is entitled to qualified immunity. This also resolves Moore-Jones’s state-law, excessive-force claims. See Baldridge v.

Rasul v. Myers

563 F.3d 527 · Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · Apr 24, 2009

immunity shields the defendants because the asserted rights were not clearly established at the time of plaintiffs’ detention. … The doctrine of qualified immunity shields government officials from civil liability to the extent their alleged misconduct “does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person

Edward J. Miller v. Dr. Robert Schoenen and Dr. David White

75 F.3d 1305 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Feb 15, 1996

As we discussed in Reece , however, the qualified-immunity question involves more than merely determining whether the law governing a plaintiff’s claim is “clearly established.” … That is the “clearly established” law.

Noble v. Adams

646 F.3d 1138 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Mar 17, 2011

during a lockdown imposed in the aftermath of a prison riot was not “clearly established” in 2002. … This scenario is precisely what the doctrine of qualified immunity is designed to cover.

Aleia Tousis v. Keith Billiot

84 F.4th 692 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Oct 18, 2023

right; and whether the right at issue was “clearly established” at the time of the officer’s alleged misconduct. … We exercise our discretion to focus on the second prong of the qualified immunity test in deciding this issue: whether Billiot’s use of deadly force in this situation violated clearly established law.

Ajaj v. Federal Bureau of Prisons

25 F.4th 805 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Feb 9, 2022

The defense of qualified immunity is a judicially recognized doctrine that shields government officials “from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional … Thus, the same context that supported a RFRA damages remedy also supported the application of qualified-immunity doctrine, which limits individual liability to violations of clearly established law.

Bechard v. Rappold

287 F.3d 827 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Apr 19, 2002

But the application of the legislative immunity doctrine to local legislators, such as county commissioners, is now well-established. See Bogan, 523 U.S. at 49 , 118 S.Ct. 966 . … In that light, it cannot be said that undisputed facts establish that the conduct of the Commissioners surrounding the termination was solely budgetary and legislative in nature.

Jose Manuel Figueroa-Rodriguez v. Aurelio Lopez-Rivera, Etc., Luis J. Gonzalez-Gonzalez v. Carmen Sonia Zayas, Etc., Victor M. Fontane-Rexach v. Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority

878 F.2d 1478 · Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Apr 25, 1989

In Mendez-Palou, 813 F.2d at 1259 , this circuit said that the question in a "qualified immunity" case, such as this one, is "whether [at the time of dismissal] it was clearly established that employees in the particular … It concluded that the defendants had not established a "qualified immunity" defense.

Montanez v. Thompson

603 F.3d 243 · Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · Apr 22, 2010

We can determine whether Thompson is entitled to qualified immunity under the “clearly established” prong of Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194 (2001). … 12  Qualified immunity is applicable unless the official’s conduct violated a clearly established constitutional right.

Doe v. Bobbitt

881 F.2d 510 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Aug 9, 1989

The sole issue on appeal is whether the defendants are entitled to summary judgment on the ground of qualified immunity. … Under the doctrine of qualified immunity, public officials performing discretionary functions are protected against suits for damages unless their conduct violates clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of

United Food and Commercial Workers, Afl-Cio, Clc, Local No. 88 v. Shop 'N Save Warehouse Foods, Inc.

113 F.3d 893 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · May 16, 1997

above, an employee, upon returning to work with a doctor’s release indicating physical fitness to return to work, shall be placed in the same job classification, seniority permitting, and shall receive the rate of pay then established

Corey Fisherman v. David Launderville

100 F.4th 978 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · May 6, 2024

And second, was the right clearly established at the time? See id. If either answer is no, then qualified immunity applies. A. … Bowersox, 526 F.3d 1186, 1188 (8th Cir. 2008) (per curiam) (denying qualified immunity); see Munz v.

Vives v. The City Of New York

405 F.3d 115 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Apr 29, 2005

Normally, it is only after making such a determination that a court should ask whether the right allegedly implicated was clearly established at the time of the events in question." County of Sacramento v. … any qualified immunity claim.

Conn v. City of Reno

572 F.3d 1047 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jul 24, 2009

Qualified immunity We next assess whether summary judgment is warranted because the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity. … Officers are entitled to qualified immunity if they reasonably misapprehend how the law would govern in their particular situation. Id at 205, 121 S.Ct. 2151 . Qualified immunity is not warranted here.

Gross v. Pirtle

245 F.3d 1151 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Apr 9, 2001

An order denying summary judgment based on qualified immunity necessarily involves a legal determination that certain alleged actions violate clearly established law. Id. at 313. … Gross, we conclude he has failed to establish that Deputy Pirtle’s actions constituted excessive force, and Deputy Pirtle is therefore entitled to qualified immunity as a matter of law.

Stewart v. Baldwin County Board of Education

908 F.2d 1499 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Aug 15, 1990

QUALIFIED IMMUNITY Defendants appeal the refusal of the district court to grant summary judgment in their favor on the basis of their qualified immunity defense. … Dollar, 841 F.2d 1558, 1564 (11th Cir.1988). 1 If the law that the defendants allegedly violated was not clearly established, then the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity. See Daniel v.