Topic
Every decision we've filed under Qualified Immunity.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a public employee's claims alleging retaliation and discrimination based on a Facebook post. The court held that the plaintiff failed to plausibly allege his speech addressed a matter of public concern or that he properly pleaded a name-clearing hearing request.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a Section one thousand nine hundred eighty-three malicious prosecution claim. The court held that the plaintiff failed to identify a specific legal process that was constitutionally infirm or to allege sufficient causation between the detective's affidavit and the arrest.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of qualified immunity for a police officer who shot and killed a fleeing, unarmed teenager who made no threatening movements with a weapon. The court held that under clearly established law, an officer cannot use deadly force against a suspect who is armed but poses no immediate threat to safety.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the City and officers, ruling that the plaintiff failed to establish a protected possessory interest in the neighbors' portion of an alleyway. The court further held that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity and that the district court committed no abuse of discretion regarding procedural rulings.
The Fourth Circuit vacated the district court's grant of qualified immunity, holding that a non-threatening, unarmed, and passively resisting suspect possesses a clearly established Fourth Amendment right to be free from unnecessary K-9 deployment. The court concluded that Officer Hagen's use of force was disproportionate under existing precedent, requiring the case to proceed to trial rather than being dismissed at this procedural stage.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for federal agents, ruling they retained qualified immunity because the warrant was not facially deficient and the agents did not deliberately deceive the magistrate. The court held that the affidavit provided a colorable argument for probable cause despite the Plaintiffs' allegations of overbreadth and misrepresentation.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of qualified immunity to Officer Harris, holding that no clearly established law prohibited his warning against using foul language in public near children during a noise complaint investigation. The court found that Ward's belligerent conduct provided arguable probable cause for a disorderly conduct arrest, defeating his constitutional claims.
The Third Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Trooper Nicholas Stolar, holding that while omitting self-defense evidence from a probable cause affidavit can violate the Fourth Amendment, the right was not clearly established at the time of the arrest. Consequently, Trooper Stolar retains qualified immunity despite the court's new rule requiring officers to disclose known facts that conclusively negate the mental state of a charged crime.
The Third Circuit affirmed a summary judgment ruling that granted qualified immunity to a state trooper who omitted self-defense evidence from a probable cause affidavit. While the court established that officers must disclose known facts showing self-defense negates the mental state of charged crimes, it found the law was not clearly established at the time of the incident.
The Fourth Circuit vacated a district court judgment that granted qualified immunity to a police officer who deployed a K-9 against a non-threatening suspect. The appellate court held that the right to be free from unnecessary and disproportionate force by a police dog was clearly established at the time of the incident.