Case law

Reggie Smith v. Thomas A. Coughlin, III K. Collyer, Sr., Counselor, B/s/a K. Collyen, Counselor

938 F.2d 19 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Jun 28, 1991

To pierce the shield of qualified immunity, the right alleged to have been violated must have been clearly established at the time the purported improper action was taken. … A right is clearly established if “in light of preexisting law the unlawfulness [of the action taken is] apparent.” Id.

O'NEIL v. City of Iowa City, Iowa

496 F.3d 915 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Aug 10, 2007

The Supreme Court has clearly defined the qualified immunity analysis. … in their circumstances would not have known their actions violate clearly established law.”

Zachary Rosenbaum v. City of San Jose

107 F.4th 919 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jul 11, 2024

CITY OF SAN JOSE SUMMARY * Excessive Force/Qualified Immunity/Police Dogs The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of qualified immunity to City of San Jose police officers in … Accordingly, we affirm the denial of qualified immunity. I.

Hunt v. Massi

773 F.3d 361 · Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Dec 10, 2014

The district court denied the police officers' claim of qualified immunity on summary judgment based, in part, on the court's erroneous conception of the clearly established law. Hunt v. Massi, 5 F. … Nevertheless, the district court held that the officer was entitled to qualified immunity since no precedent clearly established the plaintiff's right "not to be handcuffed behind his back after he allegedly informed [

Buckner v. Kilgore

36 F.3d 536 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Oct 3, 1994

Government officials performing discretionary functions have qualified immunity shielding them from civil liability if their actions did not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable … In analyzing a claim of qualified immunity, a court must determine whether the defendant’s alleged conduct violated clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.

Lewis v. City of West Palm Beach, Fla.

561 F.3d 1288 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Mar 11, 2009

Thus, if the violated right was not clearly established, qualified immunity still applies. Id. at 201. … A right may be clearly established for qualified immunity purposes in one of three ways: (1) case law with indistinguishable facts clearly establishing the constitutional right, Long v.

Stephen Sjurset v. Charles Button

810 F.3d 609 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Dec 4, 2015

The law of qualified immunity 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 … This is because in Boyd we ultimately concluded that—despite the existence of a constitutional violation—the officers were entitled to qualified immunity because no clearly established law specifically precluded the use of

Amy Corbitt v. Michael Vickers

929 F.3d 1304 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jul 10, 2019

Because we find no violation of a clearly established right, we need not reach the other qualified immunity question of whether a constitutional violation occurred in the first place. … While it is true that "only binding precedent can clearly establish a right for qualified immunity purposes," Gilmore v.

Whalen v. Fulton County

19 F.3d 828 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Mar 29, 1994

In reviewing the qualified immunity motion, the court did not address whether the state of the law was such that Michael had a clearly established right to a relationship with Elizabeth. … ("Unless the plaintiff's allegations state a claim of violation of clearly established law, a defendant pleading qualified immunity is entitled to dismissal before the commencement of discovery. ") (emphasis added).

Brisk v. City of Miami Beach, Fla.

726 F. Supp. 1305 · District Court, S.D. Florida · Dec 15, 1989

For instance, if the plaintiff’s allegations do not state a claim of violation of clearly established law, a defendant pleading qualified immunity is entitled to dismissal before the commencement of discovery. … of violations of clearly established law. 13 Accordingly, the case proceeded to *1309 trial with the qualified immunity issue unaddressed and hence unresolved.

Lovelace v. Delo

47 F.3d 286 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Feb 8, 1995

However, if the plaintiffs’ allegations state a claim of violation of clearly established law and the parties disagree as to what actions the law enforcement officers took, discovery may be appropriate for the limited purpose … of addressing the issue of qualified immunity.

McInerney v. King

791 F.3d 1224 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Jun 30, 2015

he violated her clearly established constitutional rights. … McInerney has not shown he violated a clearly established constitutional right. 7 “Qualified immunity protects ‘government officials performing discretionary functions’ and shields them from ‘liability for civil

Sylvia Daniel v. Earl Taylor, Keith Dunkel, Bernadette Hernandez, Fred Woodward, Ernest Dorling and Tommy Pritchard

808 F.2d 1401 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Sep 23, 1986

immunity because they did not violate a clearly established constitutional right of the plaintiff. … The unsettled character of this legal question is evident and demonstrates that no “clearly established” fourth amendment 3 right of plaintiff was violated. Therefore, defendants are entitled to qualified immunity.

Torres v. Madrid

60 F.4th 596 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Feb 17, 2023

Torres’s claims were barred by the doctrine of qualified immunity because, at the time she was shot, the law was not clearly established that the Fourth Amendment protects persons who successfully elude seizure. … Torres’s escape to establish qualified immunity. C. Qualified Immunity—Reasonableness of Force and Clearly Established Law There remains to be decided the merits of Ms.

City of Grand Rapids v. Grand Rapids Police Command Officers Ass'n

346 F. Supp. 3d 1061 · District Court, W.D. Michigan · Jun 12, 2018

Finally, Third-Party Defendants Rahinsky, Savage, Kiddle, McWaters, Schnurstein and Getting are entitled to qualified immunity because Janiskee has not established that his rights were clearly established at the time such … Because Janiskee has not met his burden to show that the law was clearly established, disputes of material fact whether the right was violated do not preclude summary judgment on qualified immunity.

Kristee Boyle v. Joseph Azzari, Jr.

Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · Jul 9, 2024

“The doctrine of qualified immunity shields [law enforcement] officers from civil liability so long as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable … USCA4 Appeal: 23-1107 Doc: 36 Filed: 07/09/2024 Pg: 13 of 22 “That means that we may grant qualified immunity on the ground that the purported right was not clearly established without

Rosenbaum v. Washoe County

654 F.3d 1001 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Nov 30, 2011

, whether that right was clearly established at the time of the event. … of the action, assessed in light of the legal rules that were clearly established at the time it was taken.”

Wallace v. County of Comal

400 F.3d 284 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Feb 14, 2005

The qualified immunity analysis is a two-step inquiry. First, a court must decide whether the plaintiffs’ allegations, if true, establish a violation of a clearly established right. Hare v. … Even if the government official’s conduct violates a clearly established right, the official is nonetheless entitled to qualified immunity if his conduct was objectively reasonable.

Soukaneh v. Andrzejewski

112 F.4th 107 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Aug 12, 2024

Qualified Immunity Qualified immunity shields officials “when [their] conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” White v. … established rights that justify the denial of qualified immunity.

Michael W. Alvarado v. Ronald D. Picur, Special Administrator of the Estate of Robert Curry, 1

859 F.2d 448 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Oct 27, 1988

We reverse because Curry had qualified immunity. … Thus whether Curry is protected by qualified immunity turns on the objective reasonableness of his actions in those thirty minutes, as assessed in light of the legal rules that were “clearly established” on November 22, 1985