Case law

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”)

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

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.

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

Jesse Richardson v. Sergeant Curtis Bonds

860 F.2d 1427 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Nov 29, 1988

On February 29,1988, Judge Holder-man granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment, based on the defense of qualified immunity. … established 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.

Maurice Olivier v. Leroy Baca

913 F.3d 852 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jan 11, 2019

The burden is on the party contesting qualified immunity to show that a law was clearly established at the time of an alleged violation. Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183, 197–98 (1984). … Finally, we reject Olivier’s argument that collateral estoppel should have prevented Baca from claiming qualified immunity.

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.

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

DEDURO v. THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

District Court, D. New Jersey · Sep 18, 2025

A court analyzing a defense of qualified immunity must determine both (1) whether the plaintiff has shown a violation of a constitutional right and, (2) whether the right was “clearly established” at the time of the alleged … However, even if Kane did create such notice, single out-of-circuit case is insufficient to clearly establish a right” for purposes of qualified immunity. Porter v. Pa.

Martinez v. Beggs

563 F.3d 1082 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Apr 21, 2009

When a defendant asserts qualified immunity at summary judgment, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show that: (1) the defendant violated a constitutional right and (2) the constitutional right was clearly established … In this case, because defendants did not violate Ginn’s constitutional rights, we need not address whether those rights were clearly established.