Case law

Donald M. Johnson v. Bob Odom

910 F.2d 1273 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Sep 7, 1990

An appeal may be taken from a finding against qualified immunity where the issue involved is the purely legal one of “whether the legal norms allegedly violated by the defendant were clearly established at the time of the … qualified immunities was proper.

Stoudemire v. Michigan Department of Corrections

22 F. Supp. 3d 715 · District Court, E.D. Michigan · May 15, 2014

Under the doctrine of qualified immunity, “government officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory … In evaluating whether a constitutional right was clearly established, “[t]he key determination is whether a defendant moving for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds was on notice that [her] alleged actions were

Ali v. Oneida County District Attorney

District Court, N.D. New York · Oct 30, 2023

“By contrast, prosecutors receive only qualified immunity when performing ‘administrative duties and those investigatory functions that do not relate to an advocate’s preparation for the initiation of a prosecution or for … Kessler, 694 F.3d 161, 166 (2d Cir. 2012) (“ ‘[A]ctions taken as an investigator enjoy only qualified immunity.’ ”) (quoting Zahrey v. Coffey, 221 F.3d 342, 346 (2d Cir. 2000)).

Pineda v. City of Houston

124 F. Supp. 2d 1037 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Jul 29, 1999

The Doctrine of Qualified Immunity Public officials, sued in their individual capacities under § 1983 are shielded from suit by the doctrine of qualified immunity unless their conduct violated clearly established statutory … “Qualified immunity protects a police officer from liability if a reasonable competent law enforcement officer would not have known that his actions violated clearly established law.” Harper v.

Wishnatsky v. Bergquist

550 N.W.2d 394 · North Dakota Supreme Court · May 29, 1996

The Court summarized the application of qualified immunity in this context: Our cases establish that qualified immunity shields agents Hunter and Jordan from suit for damages if “a reasonable officer could have believed [ … Bryant’s arrest] to be lawful, in light of clearly established law and the information the [arresting] officers possessed.”

Babb v. Dorman

33 F.3d 472 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Sep 19, 1994

"Qualified" or "good faith" immunity shields government officials performing discretionary functions from liability "unless their conduct violates 'clearly established statutory … Moreover, his proposed second amended complaint added nothing to aid in the determination of the qualified immunity issue except for the legal conclusion that Dorman's actions violated clearly established law.

Jackson v. Texas Southern University

997 F. Supp. 2d 613 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Feb 3, 2014

“The ‘clearly established’ standard does not mean that official’s conduct is protected by qualified immunity unless ‘the very action in question has previously been held unlawful.’ ” Kinney v. … The officer is “entitled to qualified immunity if his or her conduct was objectively reasonable in light of the legal rules that were clearly established at the time of his or her actions,” even if the conduct violated the

Cole Spencer v. Aaron Pew

117 F.4th 1130 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Sep 16, 2024

As to this force, the panel affirmed the district court’s grant of qualified immunity based solely on the second, “clearly established law” prong of the qualified immunity test. … The district court concluded that Officers Pew and Rozema were shielded by qualified immunity because no clearly established law prohibited the degree of force they used in arresting Spencer.

James Boyd v. Mickey Owen and Leslie Foott

481 F.3d 520 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Mar 22, 2007

That does not end the inquiry, however, because qualified immunity nevertheless protects the defendants unless the constitutional right that was violated was clearly established. … He has failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that the constitutional violation was clearly established, and the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity.

Welch v. Daniels

District Court, D. Nevada · Jun 23, 2025

immunity test; and (3) the 11 R&R conducted the “clearly established law” prong of the qualified immunity analysis at 12 too high a level of generality. … was clearly established to satisfy the qualified immunity analysis’ second 3 prong.

Notariano v. Tangipahoa Parish School Board

266 F. Supp. 3d 919 · District Court, E.D. Louisiana · Jul 17, 2017

allegations are sufficient, Plaintiff has failed to plead a violation of any clearly established constitutional right. … “[I]f the pleadings on their face show an unreasonable violation of a clearly established constitutional right, the defense of qualified immunity will not sustain a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).” 26 “[A] plaintiff

Terrence Hammock v. Gail Watts

Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · Jul 23, 2025

Defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity if Hammock alleged a deprivation of a constitutional right that was clearly established at the time of Defendants’ alleged conduct. … One would be hard-pressed to find a more clearly established constitutional violation than the one before us here.

Warney v. City of Rochester

536 F. Supp. 2d 285 · District Court, W.D. New York · Feb 11, 2008

are covered by qualified immunity. … LEXIS 18002 (N.D.Ill.2002) (finding that a due process right to disclosure of post-conviction exculpatory evidence exists, but granting qualified immunity because the right was not “clearly established” in 1997), aff'd in

Herbert Whitlock v. Charles Bruegge

682 F.3d 567 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · May 30, 2012

Patchman, 424 U.S. 409 (1976), or in the alterna- tive, that he is entitled to qualified immunity because he did not violate any of the plaintiffs’ clearly established constitutional rights. See Harlow v. … An official is entitled to qualified immunity for conduct that “does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Harlow, 457 U.S. at 818.

Darrin Gruenberg v. Debra Gempeler

697 F.3d 573 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Sep 26, 2012

To defeat a claim of qualified immunity, Gruenberg must show that the defendants violated a constitutional right and demonstrate that the right in question was clearly established at the time of the alleged violation. … Thus, when analyzing a qualified immunity defense, courts consider whether the alleged facts demonstrate a constitutional violation, and whether the constitu- tional right was clearly established. Pearson v.

Looney v. Black

702 F.3d 701 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Dec 21, 2012

To determine whether Black is entitled to qualified immunity as to Looney’s procedural due process claim, we must determine also whether the constitutionally protected property right was “clearly established.” 2 Reichle, … To defeat an assertion of qualified immunity, an employee’s constitutional right to free speech must also be “clearly established” under the law. Reichle, 132 S.Ct. at 2093 .

Miles v. Rich

576 F. App'x 394 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jul 31, 2014

Under the doctrine of qualified immunity, government officials acting within their discretionary authority are immune from civil liability for damages if their conduct does not violate clearly established constitutional rights … The test for qualified immunity is twofold: (1) “whether the plaintiff has alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right;” and (2) “whether the defendant’s conduct was objectively unreasonable in light

Toby J. Sutton v. Patricia Bailey

702 F.3d 444 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Dec 3, 2012

Appellants are entitled to qualified immunity unless their conduct violated “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Harlow v. … Qualified immunity “depends upon the objective reasonableness of [the alleged misconduct] as measured by reference to clearly established law.” Schleck, 939 F.2d at 641(quotations omitted).

Facey v. Dickhaut

892 F. Supp. 2d 347 · District Court, D. Massachusetts · Sep 25, 2012

Qualified Immunity The defendants assert that they are entitled to qualified immunity because the plaintiff has not alleged a violation of clearly established law. … The second prong of the qualified immunity analysis requires that the right have been clearly established at the time that it was allegedly violated. See Feliciano-Hernandez, 663 F.3d at 532 .

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection v. Drema Dotson

West Virginia Supreme Court · Mar 16, 2021

The circuit court stated that “[i]f Plaintiffs can prove their case, the WV DEP’s enforcement actions violated clearly established law and qualified immunity would not apply. … immunity pursuant to our well-established law.