Case law

Sales v. Grant

224 F.3d 293 · Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · Aug 16, 2000

qualified immunity from suit.” … provide any explanation as to how or why qualified immunity might apply.

Daniella Slater v. Shannon Deasey

943 F.3d 898 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Dec 3, 2019

Under the qualified immunity standards that have been clearly established by the Supreme Court, the district court’s dismissal of this action should have been affirmed. … The first of these rules is the more general principle— applicable to all qualified immunity cases—“that clearly established law should not be defined at a high level of generality.” White, 137 S.

Leach v. Clay

District Court, District of Columbia · Dec 23, 2025

An officer is entitled to qualified immunity “unless (1) they violated a federal statutory or constitutional right, and (2) the unlawfulness of their conduct was ‘clearly established at the time.’” … The court thus cannot say that binding precedent at the time clearly established that Officer Whitehead acted unlawfully.

Doug Morgan v. Plano Independent School Dist

755 F.3d 757 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jun 3, 2014

To overcome the qualified immunity defense at the pleading stage, Morgan must allege that the objectionable conduct violated a right that was “clearly established at the time.” Pearson v. … The prior cases had so clearly established the law that the plaintiff was able to overcome the presumption in favor of qualified immunity. Id. at 1030 .

Davis v. District of Columbia

District Court, District of Columbia · May 31, 2016

In addition, as set forth above, such law is clearly established. Afari is thus not now protected by qualified immunity on Count I either. C. … Ward, 125 F.3d 1341, 1351 (10th Cir. 1997) (Fourth Amendment rule against unnecessary damage during search is clearly established for purposes of qualified immunity).

James Haynes Camarillo v. Daniel J. McCarthy Director

998 F.2d 638 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jul 1, 1993

The defense of qualified immunity was not waived. See id. II. … Qualified immunity protects government officials performing discretionary functions from liability for civil damages, unless the official’s conduct violates clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which

Occupy Nashville v. William Haslam

769 F.3d 434 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Oct 8, 2014

the Plaza is not clearly established. … While qualified immunity can protect government officials for actions taken in the course of their duties, that protection is forfeited when an official’s conduct violates “clearly established statutory or constitutional

Oscar J. Fernandez, Etc. v. Francis T. Leonard

784 F.2d 1209 · Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Mar 6, 1986

immunity, and (2) that the constitutional violations alleged were not clearly established at the time of the shooting and that, therefore, the district court erred in denying his claim of qualified immunity. … The qualified immunity question in this case is whether defendant Leonard should have known he was violating clearly established constitutional rights of the plaintiffs. 1.

Magno J. Ortega, M.D. v. Dennis Michael O'connor, M.D. And Richard Friday

146 F.3d 1149 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jun 26, 1998

II To defeat a claim of qualified immunity, the plaintiff must show that “the law was clearly established” at the time of the violation of the plaintiffs statutory or constitutional right, such that “a reasonably competent … ’s conduct clearly established?

Brown v. City of Clewiston

644 F. Supp. 1417 · District Court, S.D. Florida · Sep 22, 1986

Summary Judgment Standard and Qualified Immunity In order to prevail on the qualified immunity defense (described, infra), PEREZ must show that there exists no genuine issue of material fact and that he is entitled to judgment … Stated succinctly, an officer was only entitled to qualified immunity if he established his reasonable, good faith belief that his actions were lawful and within the scope of his authority. See, e.g.. Barker v.

Love v. Grashorn

134 F.4th 1109 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Apr 22, 2025

established right, and  Officer Grashorn had qualified immunity even if he had been mistaken about the danger. 1 Ms. … Because Officer Grashorn asserted qualified immunity, the plaintiffs bear the initial burden of showing that (1) Officer Grashorn violated the Constitution and (2) this violation was clearly established. Verdecia v.

Delma Jackson v. Warden Carl Humphrey

776 F.3d 1232 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jan 13, 2015

We properly have “jurisdiction to hear this interlocutory appeal of the denial of qualified immunity as the issue involves the determination of whether the official[s’] conduct violated clearly established law.” … clearly established law.”

Tara Cartier Donald Coates v. Paul D. Lussier, Individually and in His Official Capacity

955 F.2d 841 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Feb 5, 1992

the legal rules that were ‘clearly established’ at the time it was taken.” … Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 344-45 , 106 S.Ct. 1092, 1097-98 , 89 L.Ed.2d 271 (1986). *844 Thus, even where the law and the scope of permissible official conduct are clearly established, the defense of qualified immunity will protect

Philip Rogers Scalice v. John Doe Davies, Sgt., Bill Weber Kurt Peterson, Superintendent Larry Kincheloe Linda Buccini, Defendants-Respondents

24 F.3d 249 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · May 17, 1994

Defendants' motion for summary judgment on the grounds of qualified immunity was granted by the district court. 1 We affirm. 3 We need only reach the issue of qualified immunity with respect to Scalice's claims against defendant … Even assuming that a policy prohibiting catalogs might violate a prisoner's First Amendment rights, we cannot say that such rights are so clearly established that Scalice's action survives defendant's qualified immunity defense

Maxcie Thomas, III v. Captain Houston Talley, Individually

251 F.3d 743 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · May 25, 2001

violate clearly established federal law, then the official would be entitled to *746 qualified immunity. … immunity typically, the issue whether the federal right alleg *747 edly infringed was ‘clearly established’ ” (emphasis in original).

Joseph Meadows v. City of Walker, Mich.

46 F.4th 416 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Aug 18, 2022

We nonetheless held that qualified immunity was warranted because the rights were not clearly established where the officers could perceive at least some resistance, id. at 850, or the struggle was in progress. … Still, we granted qualified immunity because it was not “clearly established” that the officers’ use of force was excessive given that Stanfield “could reasonably have been perceived to be resisting.” Id. at 850.

SAUCIER v. KATZ Et Al.

533 U.S. 194 · Supreme Court of the United States · Jun 18, 2001

S. 386 (1989), sets forth the objective reasonableness test for evaluating excessive force claims, a principle the Court of Appeals concluded was clearly established for qualified immunity purposes. … II The Court of Appeals ruled first that the right was clearly established; and second that the reasonableness inquiry into excessive force meant that it need not consider aspects of qualified immunity, leaving the whole

John Burk v. Linda L. Beene, Doctor, in Her Individual and Official Capacity as Director of the Arkansas State Board of Private Career Education

948 F.2d 489 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Nov 7, 1991

Thus the qualified immunity question “generally turns on the ‘objective legal reasonableness’ of the action, assessed in light of the legal rules that were ‘clearly established’ at the time it was taken.” … As the court stated, “Beene’s conduct violated a clearly established constitutional right because it was clearly established that the Fourth Amendment requires a truthful factual showing sufficient to constitute probable

Williams v. Department of Veteran Affairs

879 F. Supp. 578 · District Court, E.D. Virginia · Mar 29, 1995

There, the Supreme Court held that government actors protected by qualified immunity are immune from suit if their conduct does not violate “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person … established” as to preclude the individual defendants from claiming qualified immunity for the alleged actions.

Clarissa Gilmore v. Georgia Department of Corrections

111 F.4th 1118 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jul 29, 2024

But as we discuss, our prec- edent rejects that path to defeating qualified immunity. … qualified-immunity purposes.