Case law

Cleavinger v. Saxner

474 U.S. 193 · Supreme Court of the United States · Dec 10, 1985

To be sure, the line between absolute immunity and qualified immunity often is not an easy one to perceive and structure. … Petitioners state that they have not challenged — although they do not concede— the ruling that they violated “clearly established constitutional rights” of respondents. See Brief for Petitioners 7, n. 8.

Forbes v. Township of Lower Merion

313 F.3d 144 · Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · Dec 11, 2002

When a defendant moves for summary judgment based on qualified immunity, the denial of the motion may be appealed immediately under the collateral-order doctrine because "[t]he entitlement is an immunity from suit rather … For instance, we may "review whether the set of facts identified by the district court is sufficient to establish a violation of a clearly established constitutional right," but we may not "consider whether the district court

Gragg v. Kentucky Cabinet for Workforce Development

289 F.3d 958 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · May 20, 2002

Garrett, 880 S.W.2d 530, 534 (Ky.1994)) To prevail against a defense of qualified immunity a plaintiff must first establish the constitutional right that she claims was violated by the defendants. Wilson v. … She must then demonstrate that this right was clearly established at the time of the infringement.

Rivas v. Freeman

940 F.2d 1491 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Sep 9, 1991

In Harlow, the Supreme Court further stated that if the law regarding an individual's constitutional or statutory rights is clearly established, the qualified immunity defense ordinarily should fail. … Harlow, at 819, 102 S.Ct. at 2738 . 20 The district court denied the deputies' claim to qualified immunity noting that their combined conduct violated Rivas's clearly established constitutional rights.

Billie Hovick v. Darci Patterson

37 F.4th 511 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Jun 16, 2022

established.2 “We review de novo the district court’s grant of summary judgment based on qualified immunity.” … Our qualified-immunity inquiry “involv[es] two questions—whether the official’s conduct violated a constitutional or statutory right, and whether that right was clearly established.” Id.

Ramon Cortesluna v. Manuel Leon

979 F.3d 645 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Oct 27, 2020

Principles of Qualified Immunity Qualified immunity protects individual officers “from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which … Officers are entitled to qualified immunity in § 1983 actions unless they violate “clearly established” rights. Reichle v. Howards, 566 U.S. 658, 664 (2012).

Flores v. City of Palacios

381 F.3d 391 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Aug 10, 2004

STEP TWO: OBJECTIVE REASONABLENESS IN LIGHT OF CLEARLY ESTABLISHED LAW For a right to be clearly established under the second step of the qualified immunity analysis, “[t]he contours of … the qualified immunity analysis.

Frank D. Unger and Sherri J. Unger v. Susan Pierce

Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia · Nov 1, 2023

Pierce were in violation of a clearly established constitutional right, nor were they fraudulent, malicious, or oppressive. … Code, 29-12A-1, et seq. is 3  entitled to qualified immunity from personal liability for official acts if the involved conduct did not violate clearly established

NEW YORK STATE NAT. ORGAN. FOR WOMEN v. Cuomo

14 F. Supp. 2d 424 · District Court, S.D. New York · Jul 24, 1998

Although violation of state rules or regulations may inform the court's analysis of a qualified immunity defense, the defense may only be defeated by the court's determination that the official violated "clearly established … The court must look to Supreme Court and Second Circuit precedent in evaluating whether the law relevant to the constitutional issues raised here is "clearly established" for qualified immunity purposes. See Elder v.

Harrington v. City of Council Bluffs, Iowa

678 F.3d 676 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Apr 30, 2012

In 2007, the district court found the officers were entitled to qualified immunity regarding their failure to disclose exculpatory evidence because any failure did not violate a right that was clearly established when the … “Qualified immunity is an affirmative defense for which the defendant carries the burden of proof. The plaintiff[s], however, must demonstrate that the law is clearly established.” Sparr v.

Rettele v. Los Angeles County

186 F. App'x 765 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jun 21, 2006

Having determined that Plaintiffs’ factual allegations, if true, may establish a constitutional violation, we turn our attention to whether the law was clearly established, such that a reasonable officer would have known … to qualified immunity at the summary judgment stage.

Rashied Goodwin v. Edward Conway

836 F.3d 321 · Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · Sep 12, 2016

The detectives moved for summary judgment and asserted a qualified immunity defense. … Public officials are entitled to qualified immunity unless their conduct violated a clearly established constitutional right.17 Thus, to resolve a claim of qualified immunity, courts engage in a two-pronged inquiry: (1) whether

Charfauros v. Board of Elections

5 N. Mar. I. 188 · Supreme Court of The Commonwealth of The Northern Mariana Islands · Nov 27, 1998

The members of the Board of Elections, acting in their individual capacities, asserted qualified immunity. 7 The court held that “the procedure for resolving voter challenges was not ‘clearly established’ at the time the … immunity because the process for disqualifying voters was not sufficiently or clearly established at the time the hearings were held.

Eckmann v. Board of Education of Hawthorn School District No. 17

636 F. Supp. 1214 · District Court, N.D. Illinois · May 19, 1986

Having at least arguably violated a clearly established constitutional right of plaintiff, the Board members lose the benefits of a qualified immunity — “immunity from suit” — and are forced to proceed to trial to test the … Qualified immunity protects government officials only in cases where it cannot be said that their actions violated rights clearly established at the time that they acted.

Gustafson v. Thomas

75 F. Supp. 3d 876 · District Court, N.D. Illinois · Dec 16, 2014

City of Chic., 865 F.2d 827 , 846 (7th Cir. 1989) (examining only cases decided before the events at issue in analyzing how clearly established the law was for qualified immunity). … Whatever the implications of potential violations of Illinois law, these alleged violations have no bearing on whether the law was clearly established for qualified immunity purposes. .

Heggs v. Grant

73 F.3d 317 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jan 22, 1996

On the appeal of a nonfinal order denying qualified immunity, we have jurisdiction under the collateral order doctrine to decide whether the conduct complained of violated "clearly established statutory or … No clearly established law required him to take further measures to protect her.

Schwartz v. Pridy

874 F. Supp. 256 · District Court, E.D. Missouri · Jan 18, 1995

Government officials performing discretionary functions are provided with qualified immunity from a civil rights damages action if their challenged conduct does not “violate clearly established statutory or constitutional … The second prong of the qualified immunity analysis requires a determination of whether the constitutional right in question was “clearly established.” Id.

John S. Pleasant v. Larry Lovell, Larry Hyatt, Vernon Pixley, Kenneth Batson and Tim Fortune

876 F.2d 787 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · Jun 6, 1989

Defendant Fortune has qualified immunity for his technical consensual monitoring assistance; no clearly established first or fourth amendment right was violated. … After applying clearly established fourth amendment principles, we reject the contention that these defendants are entitled to qualified immunity.

White v. Bibb County, Georgia

28 F. Supp. 2d 1374 · District Court, M.D. Georgia · Dec 7, 1998

To overcome qualified immunity, the plaintiffs must show (1) that Defendant God-bee violated their constitutional rights and (2) that those rights were clearly established at the time of the violation. … It is well settled in the Eleventh Circuit that “the law can be ‘clearly established’ for qualified immunity purposes only by decisions of the U.S.

Troy Thompson v. Ira Mercer

762 F.3d 433 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Aug 7, 2014

A public official is entitled to qualified immunity unless his conduct violates constitutional law that was “clearly established at the time of the defendant’s actions.” Freeman v. … We agree with the Thompsons that—at the very least—the relevant law is not so well developed as to clearly establish a violation here. And it is for that very reason that Mercer is entitled to qualified immunity.