Case law

Watkins v. City of Oakland

145 F.3d 1087 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · May 29, 1998

Although the use of excessive force in effecting an arrest is a clearly established violation of the Fourth Amendment, Watkins’ legal right cannot be so general as to allow him to “convert the rule of qualified immunity . … established for purposes of determining whether the officers have qualified immunity.

Rombach v. Culpepper

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jul 13, 2021

a clearly established constitutional right.” … Sheehan, 575 U.S. 600, 613 (2015) (“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.”).

Nelson Edwards v. Michael Jolliff-Blake

Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Nov 1, 2018

  that  constitutional  right  was  clearly  established  at  the  time  of  the  alleged  violation.”  …   immunity);  Junkert,  610 F.3d at 370 (concluding officers were entitled to qualified  immunity based on  their reasonable  belief that  the  affidavit  established probable cause even though it left “much to be de‐ sired”)

In re Possible Violations of 18 USC 371, 641, 1503

564 F.2d 567 · Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · Sep 2, 1977

In particular, the Court observed *86 that official harassment of the press undertaken solely to disrupt a reporter’s relationship with news sources would clearly be subject to judicial control. 18 In a separate opinion, … A newsman can claim no general immunity, qualified or otherwise, from grand jury questioning. On the contrary, like all other witnesses, he must appear and normally must answer.

Burden v. Carroll

108 F. App'x 291 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Aug 12, 2004

Qualified Immunity Mitchell v. … Qualified immunity affords government officials an immunity from suit “insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known” (Harlow

Tenorio v. Pitzer

802 F.3d 1160 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Oct 6, 2015

Qualified Immunity “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 … “Ordinarily, in order for the law to be clearly established, there must be a Su *1164 preme Court or Tenth Circuit decision on point, or the clearly established weight of authority from other courts must have found the law

Spicer v. Hilton

618 F.2d 232 · Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · Feb 28, 1980

However, it is well established that courts have a duty to avoid passing upon a constitutional question if the case may be disposed of on some other ground. Hagans v. … It is clearly established that the state’s immunity can be waived by the state, see, e. g., Petty v. Tennessee-Missouri Bridge Comm’n., 359 U.S. 275, 276 , 79 S.Ct. 785 , 3 L.Ed.2d 804 (1959); Gunter v.

Keshone Owens v. James Dzurenda

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · May 16, 2023

but did not address whether the law was clearly established). 3 has begun to run.” … We reverse the district court’s denial of qualified immunity and remand with instructions to grant Appellants’ motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity.

Haygood v. Johnson

70 F.3d 92 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Dec 4, 1995

clearly established federal law. … McMillian, 939 F.2d 1479, 1497-98 & n. 32 (11th Cir.1991) (law can be "clearly established" for qualified immunity purposes by decisions of U.S.

Al-Turki v. Robinson

762 F.3d 1188 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Aug 12, 2014

-2- motion for qualified immunity. … Defendant contends that even if her alleged actions violated Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment rights, she is entitled to qualified immunity because the law was not clearly established at the time of her alleged violation.

Michelin D. McKee v. James Montiel

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · May 8, 2025

Such a violation would also violate clearly established law, as required to overcome qualified immunity. … See Hall, 975 F.3d at 1275 (explaining that to defeat qualified immunity, the plaintiff must establish that the defendant violated a “clearly established” constitutional right).

Tooly v. Schwaller

919 F.3d 165 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Mar 20, 2019

The Lack of Clearly Established Law For qualified immunity to apply, it is sufficient that no clearly established law has held that "an officer acting under similar circumstances" violated an employee's due process rights … And we conclude that, since Schwaller has not violated Tooly's clearly established rights, he is entitled to qualified immunity.

McNair v. Bace

District Court, D. Maryland · Jun 5, 2025

McNair has stated a viable claim, he is entitled to qualified immunity because it was not clearly established at the time of the incident that his actions constituted an excessive use of force. ECF No. 38-1 at 14. … established for any future qualified immunity cases involving similar circumstances.”

Clemente Properties, Inc. v. Pierluisi

District Court, D. Puerto Rico · Sep 22, 2023

Qualified immunity applies where: (1) a federal right was violated, and (2) “the unlawfulness of the conduct was clearly established at the time.” Lawless, 63 F.4th at 67. … Courts may begin the qualified immunity analysis by considering the clearly established prong. See Id.

Castro

District Court, D. Utah · Mar 18, 2026

“Individual defendants named in a § 1983 action may raise a defense of qualified immunity, which shields public officials from damages actions unless their conduct was unreasonable in light of clearly established law.”43 … Thus, while a case need not be directly on point, precedent must still put the underlying question beyond debate.”79 When assessing the “clearly established” prong of qualified immunity, courts are to pay close attention

D.A.R. v. R.E.L.

272 So. 3d 1030 · Supreme Court of Alabama · Sep 7, 2018

This court has recognized the difference between absolute immunity, which defeats a suit at the outset, and qualified immunity, which depends on circumstances and motivations and often must be established by evidence at trial … are not always uniform in deciding whether absolute or qualified immunity applies."

Margaret L. Hosty, Jeni S. Porche, and Steven P. Barba v. Patricia Carter, and Governors State University

412 F.3d 731 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Jun 20, 2005

Only if the answer is affirmative does the court inquire whether the official enjoys qualified immunity. … She therefore is entitled to qualified immunity from liability in damages. Reversed.

Moorehead v. SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN

District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania · Jul 16, 2024

Coffey, 905 F.3d 138, 144 (3d Cir. 2018) (granting qualified immunity for lack of clearly established law regarding electronic communications in the workplace); United States v. … But if they weren’t, these unsettled issues would weigh heavily in favor of qualified immunity.

Russell v. Scully

15 F.3d 219 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Jun 4, 1993

Wright moved for summary judgment on the ground that he enjoyed qualified immunity. … Judge Sweet denied the motion, holding that the failure to assess independently the credibility and reliability of informants breached a clearly established due process right and that the defense of qualified immunity was

Saez v. Judicial Branch

District Court, D. Connecticut · Mar 31, 2025

Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 244 (2009) (recognizing that the qualified immunity “inquiry turns on the objective legal reasonableness of the action, assessed in light of the legal rules that were clearly established at the time … See id. at 231 (“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