Case law

Zachary Church v. Bob Anderson

898 F.3d 830 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Aug 3, 2018

We review de novo a decision granting summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity. Burton v. St. Louis Bd. of Police Comm’rs, 731 F.3d 784, 791 (8th Cir. 2013). … clearly established at the time of the violation.

Gerald R. Wollin v. Bruce Gondert, Deputy Sheriff, Joseph Seidel, Deputy Sheriff and Jefferson County, Wisconsin

192 F.3d 616 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Sep 2, 1999

“Thus ... a qualified immunity analysis entails a purely objective inquiry to determine whether at the time of the alleged illegal act, the right asserted by the plaintiff was clearly established in the particular factual … Qualified Immunity Qualified immunity protects government officials from liability for civil damages “insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established rights of which a reasonable person would have known.”

Jeffrey Tokar v. Bill Armontrout Robert Drennen Myrna E. Trickey

97 F.3d 1078 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Oct 8, 1996

After the stay was lifted, in 1993 appellees filed a motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds, asserting that they had not violated any clearly established right by segregating Tokar on the basis of his HIV-positive … The district court held that appellees were entitled to qualified immunity on this issue, concluding that during the times in 1989 and 1991 that Tokar was segregated in Unit Six he had no clearly established constitutional

Kenneth H. Swipies v. Frank Kofka

Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Nov 3, 2003

An officer is entitled to qualified immunity unless his conduct violated clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. See Harlow v. … established.

James Williams v. Brian Maurer

9 F.4th 416 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Aug 17, 2021

Clearly Established Right At the second prong of the qualified immunity analysis, Plaintiffs bear the burden of showing that Defendants’ unconstitutional conduct violated clearly established law. … clearly established.

Riverdale Mills Corp. v. Pimpare

392 F.3d 55 · Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Dec 22, 2004

of a constitutional right; second whether the constitutional right allegedly violated was clearly established; and third whether the defendants nonetheless deserve qualified immunity because their … Layne, 526 U.S. 603, 614-15 (1999) ("It could plausibly be asserted that any violation of the Fourth Amendment is 'clearly established,' since it is clearly established that the protections of the Fourth Amendment apply

Myers v. Oklahoma County Board Of County Commissioners

151 F.3d 1313 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Aug 20, 1998

Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818 , 102 S.Ct. 2727 , 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982) (stating that an official is protected by qualified immunity if the officer's actions were objectively reasonable in light of clearly established legal … Although individual officers may receive the protection of qualified immunity, "municipalities enjoy no such shield." Watson, 857 F.2d at 697 .

Williams v. Hansen

326 F.3d 569 · Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · Apr 22, 2003

action is a violation) violates a clearly established right. … Plaintiffs would be able to convert the rule of qualified immunity that our cases plainly establish into a rule of virtually unqualified liability simply by alleging violation of extremely abstract rights.

Trinidad Roure v. Rafael Hernandez Colon, Etc.

824 F.2d 139 · Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Jul 24, 1987

The question before us on this interlocutory appeal is whether “the incorrectness of [defendants’] conduct was clearly established,” see DeAbadia v. … Defendants’ position that the appointments were void, even if correct as a matter of Puerto Rico law, does not establish that defendants are entitled to qualified immunity with respect to plaintiffs’ First Amendment claims

Medina v. Cram

252 F.3d 1124 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Jun 12, 2001

An order denying summary judgment based on qualified immunity necessarily involves a legal determination that certain alleged actions violate clearly established law. … officer violated a clearly established right.

Steen v. City of Pensacola

809 F. Supp. 2d 1342 · District Court, N.D. Florida · Aug 22, 2011

Qualified Immunity “The qualified immunity defense ‘shields government agents from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable … I will simply assume arguendo that there was a constitutional violation and proceed to the second step of the qualified immunity analysis. 2. Was the right “clearly established” at the time of the violation?

Mayfield v. Bethards

826 F.3d 1252 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Jun 20, 2016

Whether a plaintiff has sufficiently “alleged a violation of his clearly established constitutional rights to overcome [the defendant’s] defense of qualified immunity is an issue of law reviewable on interlocutory appeal … Qualified immunity protects government officials from suit for civil damages if their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights. Thomas v.

Johnny Tlapanco v. Jonathan Elges

969 F.3d 638 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Aug 12, 2020

These violations were of clearly established law. Elges, therefore, is not entitled to qualified immunity on these federal claims. … Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 236–37 (2009) (permitting federal courts to skip to the clearly established prong of the qualified immunity analysis).

Ruta Marie Kahn v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

20 F.3d 960 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Mar 25, 1994

II The Board, acting on behalf of the Attorney General, may establish standards to guide the exercise of discretion in granting waivers of deportation under § 212(c) “as long as [they] are rationally related to the statutory … Nonetheless, it was clearly a significant one.

Sockwell v. Phelps

20 F.3d 187 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · May 10, 1994

established in the opinions rendered by Judge Johnson in Washington v. … We further hold that Phelps and Blackburn are not protected under qualified immunity, due to their knowing and intentional participation in a general policy of racial segregation 5 The Tenth Circuit specifically

Kaufman v. Higgs

697 F.3d 1297 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Oct 23, 2012

“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 a reasonable … Accordingly, to defeat an assertion of qualified immunity in a summary judgment motion, a plaintiff must properly allege a deprivation of a constitutional right and must further show that the constitutional right was clearly

Ellen Keates v. Michael Koile

883 F.3d 1228 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Mar 6, 2018

But on the other hand, defendants are entitled to qualified immunity so long as “their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” … KOILE Turning to the second prong of the qualified immunity inquiry, “whether the right was clearly established,” Saucier, 533 U.S. at 201, we must determine whether it was so clear that Koile’s actions violated Keates

Wyno v. Lowndes County

305 Ga. 523 · Supreme Court of Georgia · Feb 18, 2019

As a result, there has developed what has become known as qualified immunity or official immunity for public officials and employees. … a means of varying that immunity by legislative act.

Kathleen Hayes v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago

Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · May 28, 2026

This is “[b]ecause qualified immunity pro- tects the public officer from the expense and distraction of having to stand trial when the conduct in question did not vi- olate clearly established law.” Bayon v. … Although we decide the issue at the second step of the qualified immunity analysis (did case law clearly establish Lyons would be violating Hayes’s constitutional right?)

Burke v. Pitts

Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Nov 4, 2025

Qualified immunity “shields officials from civil liability so long as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” … In Tenorio, we affirmed the denial of a summary judgment motion seeking qualified immunity because the evidence supported a violation of clearly established law. 802 F.3d at 1161.