Case law

Wayne Scott and Gary Johnson v. Charles Godwin

Texas Court of Appeals, 13th District · Aug 31, 2004

In conducting a qualified immunity analysis, the reviewing court first determines whether the plaintiff has alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right. See Siegert v. … “‘Clearly established’ for purposes of qualified immunity means that [t]he contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right.”

Ringer v. Fallis

848 F. Supp. 519 · District Court, D. Delaware · Mar 31, 1994

QUALIFIED IMMUNITY Government officials performing discretionary functions generally are entitled to qualified immunity if “their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a … A court must begin its qualified immunity analysis with the determination of whether the plaintiff has alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right. Siegert v.

Walter v. Morton

33 F.3d 1240 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Aug 30, 1994

Jurisdiction 5 We have jurisdiction to hear Chief Morton's and Mayor Vickers' appeals as they are appealing a denial of qualified immunity. Qualified immunity is immunity from liability but also immunity from suit. … The "plaintiff must do more than identify in the abstract a clearly established right and allege that the defendant has violated it."

Trevor Davis v. Christopher Allen

112 F.4th 487 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Aug 14, 2024

The 3 Qualified immunity shields government officials from liability “unless (1) they violated a federal statutory or constitutional right, and (2) the un- lawfulness of their conduct was ‘clearly established at the time … Whether Deputy Allen Violated Clearly Established Law Depends on Disputed Facts The parties’ disputed facts are also inextricably bound up with the question of whether Deputy Allen violated clearly established

Kinzer v. Jackson

316 F.3d 139 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Jan 9, 2003

The court therefore refused to accord Harris qualified immunity. … Qualified immunity shields a government employee acting in his official capacity from suit for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , unless the employee’s conduct violated clearly established rights of which an objectively reasonable

Smith v. Bunkley

171 A.3d 1118 · Superior Court of Delaware · Aug 3, 2016

to establish jurisdiction necessary to survive a motion to dismiss.18 Therefore, the “[p]laintiff bears the burden of establishing that sovereign immunity has been abrogated.”19 For example, in Pauley et al v. … The State Tort Claims Act provides a qualified immunity to state employees, only in their individual capacities, exempting them from liability.22 The defense of qualified immunity may be raised when: “(1) the alleged act

Zitta v. Graham

996 F. Supp. 2d 272 · District Court, D. Vermont · Jan 24, 2014

As long as the conduct was “objectively legally reasonable in light of the legal rules that were clearly established at the time it was taken,” qualified immunity applies. Id. … As explained above, Officer Graham is entitled to qualified immunity because the point at which an officer’s conduct reaches state action in these circumstances has not been clearly established.

Williams v. Franklin County Board of Commissioners

145 Ohio App. 3d 530 · Ohio Court of Appeals · Aug 28, 2001

Under the doctrine of qualified immunity, public officials who perform discretionary functions are generally entitled to immunity from suit in a Section 1983 action as long as their conduct does not violate clearly established … of clearly established law and the information that he possessed.

Gregory W. Zullo v. State of Vermont

205 A.3d 466 · Supreme Court of Vermont · Jan 4, 2019

in that it violated clearly established constitutional rights of which reasonable person would have been aware) … Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 341 (1986) (noting that qualified immunity’s clearly-established-right test protects “all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law”).

Stamm v. Cnty. of Cheyenne

326 F. Supp. 3d 832 · District Court, D. Nebraska · Jun 11, 2018

12 because there was no clearly established law to alert the officers that their allegedly unlawful searches would deprive Plaintiffs of their Fourth Amendment rights. 13 "To avoid qualified immunity, the asserted rights … For purposes of analyzing the individual Defendants' qualified immunity defense, the court finds this right to confidentiality was clearly established at the time of their alleged misconduct.

Staley v. Lingerfelt

134 N.C. App. 294 · Court of Appeals of North Carolina · Jul 20, 1999

App. at 725-26 , 460 S.E.2d at 211 : ‘The test of qualified immunity for police officers sued under [section 1983] is whether [the officers’ conduct violated] clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which … In ruling on the defense of qualified immunity we must: (1) identify the specific right allegedly violated; (2) determine whether the right allegedly violated was clearly established at the time of the violation; and (3)

Kinney v. Weaver

367 F.3d 337 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Sep 24, 2002

Not long after Harlow , the Court refined the qualified immunity standard by defining “clearly established” in a way that encompasses the “objective reasonableness” inquiry: To be “clearly established” for purposes of qualified … Yet, at the same time, an official does not lose qualified immunity merely because a certain right is clearly established in the abstract.

Gionis v. Headwest, Inc.

799 So. 2d 416 · District Court of Appeal of Florida · Nov 16, 2001

Gionis subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment as to Count VIII, on the basis that he was immune from suit under the doctrine of qualified immunity. … Once it is established that the acts in question were discretionary governmental functions, the second element requires the plaintiff to demonstrate that the government official violated the plaintiffs clearly established

Morales v. City of North Las Vegas

272 F. Supp. 3d 1216 · District Court, D. Nevada · Jul 26, 2017

Qualified immunity protects law enforcement officials “from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have … This argument, without more, would likely fail the second prong of the qualified immunity inquiry because of the "longstanding principle that clearly established law should not be defined at a high level of generality ...

Raju v. Rhodes

809 F. Supp. 1229 · District Court, S.D. Mississippi · Nov 20, 1992

Consequently, in assessing defendant’s right to qualified immunity, the court must determine “whether any of these claims rests upon such clearly established law that the defendant^ ha[s] forfeited [his] qualified immunity … Raju cannot establish, in order to overcome Dr. Rhodes’ qualified immunity, the violation of a clearly established constitutional right in regard to his substantive due process claim. C.

McCoy v. Webster

47 F.3d 404 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Mar 14, 1995

Qualified immunity shields government officials performing discretionary duties from civil trial and liability if their conduct violates no "clearly established statutory or 3 This action was filed … Because the law was not clearly established that Brown's conduct, based on the information he possessed, violated McCoy's Eighth Amendment right, Brown is entitled to qualified immunity. 4 Under some circumstances

Cullen Reed Peppers v. Bobby F. Coates, Jr., Buster Williams

887 F.2d 1493 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Nov 13, 1989

immunity, defendant must establish that plaintiff has failed to raise a genuine issue of fact material to the qualified immunity defense. 7 In Mitchell , *1497 the Court stated that in resolving a claim for qualified immunity … ’s commission of acts in violation of plaintiff’s clearly established rights.

Dean Birkeland v. John Jorgenson

971 F.3d 787 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Aug 20, 2020

and killed him–our precedent compels the conclusion that the officers’ use of deadly force in this situation was not a violation of a clearly established right. … established right.”

Linda L. Harrell, Individually, as Personal Representative, and as Surviving Spouse of Larry Gene Harrell, Deceased v. Decatur County, Ga.

22 F.3d 1570 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jun 22, 1994

Thus, if the law was clearly established, the qualified immunity privilege “ordinarily should fail, because a reasonably competent public official should know the law governing his conduct.” … Deputy Morris The focus of our inquiry into deputy Morris’s assertion of qualified immunity is whether his actions violated clearly established law. Rich, 841 F.2d at 1564 .

Whitney Hodges v. City of Grand Rapids, Mich.

139 F.4th 495 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · May 30, 2025

As we will explain, the complaint here does not establish the defense of qualified immunity because Hodges has alleged facts making plausible the inference that the officers violated Honestie’s clearly established Fourth … Qualified Immunity Having determined the proper scope of the record on appeal, we must now determine whether Hodges has plausibly alleged that the officers violated Honestie’s clearly established rights.