Case law

Jennings v. Patton

635 F.3d 655 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Mar 9, 2011

B The doctrine of qualified immunity protects public officials from liability for civil damages “insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable … immunity, inquiring: (1) whether the facts that the plaintiff has alleged make out a violation of a constitutional right; and (2) whether the right at issue was “clearly established” at the time of the defendant’s alleged

Hawley v. Nelson

968 F. Supp. 1372 · District Court, E.D. Missouri · Apr 4, 1997

Qualified immunity is available (1) if the law as it relates to the relevant facts was not clearly established or (2) if a reasonable official could have believed the alleged conduct was lawful in light of the clearly established … clearly established and defendants are entitled to at least qualified immunity from suit.

Leghart Ex Rel. Leghart v. Hauk

25 F. Supp. 2d 748 · District Court, W.D. Texas · Nov 23, 1998

As such, “[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. … “The first step is to determine whether the plaintiff has alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right.” Id.

Pittman v. Nelms

87 F.3d 116 · Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · Jun 26, 1996

The immunity level consists of two sub-issues--whether the law governing the violation was clearly established at the time of the incident, Siegert v. … But it invokes immunity prematurely if the facts indicate no constitutional violation, clearly established or otherwise 3 Like Pittman, Graham grounded his claim on multiple provisions of the Constitution.

Brantley v. Wysocki

145 F. Supp. 3d 407 · District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania · Oct 30, 2015

Corporal Wysocki is entitled to qualified immunity on Brantley’s First Amendment Retaliation claim “Qualified immunity protects government officials from liability from civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate … The next question is determining if Brantley’s constitutional right is clearly established.

James F. Robinson v. Solano County Brian Cauwells, Solano County Sheriff's Deputy Officer Gary Faulkner, Solano County Sheriff's Deputy Officer

218 F.3d 1030 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jul 12, 2000

Qualified immunity “ ‘shield[s] [government agents] 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 … Layne, 526 U.S. 603, 615 , 119 S.Ct. 1692 , 143 L.Ed.2d 818 (1999) (“ ‘clearly established’ ” for purposes of qualified immunity does not mean that “ ‘an official action is pro *1036 tected by qualified immunity unless the

Nassau County Department of Social Services v. R.B.

23 Misc. 3d 270 · New York City Family Court · Dec 18, 2008

To qualify for an exemption respondent must first demonstrate that she holds a religious belief that is contrary to immunization. … The testimony of the DSS caseworker clearly established that the three children have never been immunized.

Bradshaw v. Meyer

District Court, D. Colorado · Sep 30, 2025

Qualified Immunity “Qualified immunity attaches when an official’s conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person … No clearly established law. Additionally, no clearly established law confirmed that Ontiveras’ actions were unconstitutional.

Eastland County Cooperative Dispatch, Eastland County, and the City of Gorman v. Elnor Maxine Poyner, Individually and as Independent of the Estate of William Euell Poyner, and as Sole Heir of William Euell Poyner

Texas Court of Appeals, 11th District (Eastland) · Oct 25, 2001

The motions for summary judgment implicated the doctrines of sovereign immunity, official immunity, and qualified immunity. … Was that general prohibition the source for clearly established law which the officers violated in this case?

Torres-Rivera v. Calderón-Serra

328 F. Supp. 2d 237 · District Court, D. Puerto Rico · Aug 5, 2004

Qualified Immunity “[Gjovernment officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional … Therefore, the Court has room for only one conclusion: that plaintiffs have failed to establish the second prong of the qualified immunity test, that the right was clearly established at the time of the alleged violation.

Gary Thompson v. Andy Shock

852 F.3d 786 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Mar 28, 2017

The district court determined that Thompson’s claimed First Amendment right was not clearly established under the Pickering–Connick test, granted qualified immunity to Sheriff Shock in his individual capacity, and dismissed … Qualified Immunity Qualified immunity shields a government official acting in his individual capacity from liability “unless his conduct violates ‘clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable

Rucker v. Marshall

119 F.4th 395 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Oct 14, 2024

To deny qualified immunity, a district court must find “that the alleged conduct amounts to a constitutional violation” and that “the right was clearly established at the time of the conduct.” Buehler v. … To establish excessive force, a plaintiff must show “(1) injury, (2) which resulted directly and only from a use of force that was clearly excessive, and (3) the excessiveness of which was clearly unreasonable.” Byrd v.

NUON v. City of Lowell

768 F. Supp. 2d 323 · District Court, D. Massachusetts · Mar 4, 2011

The principle of qualified immunity shields a police officer from liability for civil damages when his conduct does not violate clearly-established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have … On this point, Kinney would not be entitled to qualified immunity.

Ganek v. Leibowitz

874 F.3d 73 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Oct 17, 2017

 immunity on the ground that the right was not  then clearly established.   …  immunity and summary judgment  should  be  granted  to  the  defendant  on  the  basis  of  qualified  immunity”).   

Morales v. New York

22 F. Supp. 3d 256 · District Court, S.D. New York · May 22, 2014

A qualified immunity defense is established where “(a) the defendant’s action did not violate clearly established law, or (b) it was objectively reasonable for the defendant to believe that his action did not violate such … When considering a claim of qualified immunity, courts ask first whether there was a violation of a clearly established constitutional right. Id. at 706 .

E.A.F.F. v. Gonzalez

600 F. App'x 205 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Jan 16, 2015

The analysis of a defense of qualified immunity involves two steps. “First, a court must decide whether a plaintiffs allegation, if true, establishes a violation of a clearly established right.” Hernandez ex rel. … Whether the plaintiffs have alleged a violation of a clearly established right, as required under the first step of this court’s qualified immunity analysis, is not at issue.

Johnson v. Perry

140 F. Supp. 3d 222 · District Court, D. Connecticut · Oct 21, 2015

clearly established at the time of the defendants’ acts in question.” … The qualified immunity analysis involves relating the legal standard of conduct to the facts established by the evidence in the case at hand.

Nelson Ex Rel. the Estate of Nelson v. Prison Health Services, Inc.

991 F. Supp. 1452 · District Court, M.D. Florida · Dec 30, 1997

Qualified Immunity The Sheriff argues that the doctrine of qualified immunity precludes his individual liability for civil damages. … The doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials performing discretionary functions from liability for civil. damages as long as their actions do not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional

Tsotesi v. Board of Education of the City School District

258 F. Supp. 2d 336 · District Court, S.D. New York · Apr 23, 2003

of Board policies violated “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights.” 12 *339 Conclusion The motion of the BOE Defendants for judgment on the pleadings dismissing the complaint as to them is granted insofar … Vermont Dep’t of Educ., 313 F.3d 768 , 793 (2d Cir.2002) (holding that “a ruling on the availability of a qualified immunity defense would be premature” because “[t]he qualified immunity issue in this case turns on factual

Outlaw v. City of Hartford

884 F.3d 351 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Mar 7, 2018

Holloway, 510 U.S. 510, 516 (1994). 7 Allen contends that in December 2004, the law governing his conduct 8 was not sufficiently clearly established because "it was not clearly established that an 9 … Creighton, 483 U.S. at 640-41. 15 Where the right at issue in the circumstances confronting police officers was clearly 16 established but was violated, the officer will still be entitled to qualified immunity if 17