qualified immunity

Oral argument: Mar. 21, 2012

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (Mar. 14, 2011)

Respondent Steven Howards criticized and touched Vice President Cheney while the Vice President was on a meet-and-greet at a local shopping center. Petitioners Virgil Reichle and Dan Doyle, two Secret Service Agents, confronted Howards, and subsequently arrested him for assault. However, the state prosecutor dropped the charges against Howards, who then brought a First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim against the Agents. The district court denied the Agents’ motion for summary judgment, ruling that the Agents could not benefit from qualified immunity under the circumstances. The Tenth Circuit affirmed. The Supreme Court must now resolve whether one may raise a First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim when there was probable cause for one’s arrest. A decision for Howards may deter law enforcement officers from making arrests for fear of retaliatory arrest claims, while a decision for the Agents may enable officers to more easily target and punish speech which they oppose.

Oral argument: Jan. 17, 2012

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Sep. 9, 2010)

QUALIFIED IMMUNITY, CIVIL RIGHTS CLAIMS, PRIVATE ATTORNEY

After petitioner Steve Filarsky, a private attorney retained by the City of Rialto to conduct an internal affairs investigation, prompted City officials to order respondent Nicholas Delia, a local firefighter, to consent to a warrantless search of his home, Delia brought a civil rights claim against both Filarsky and the City, alleging, among other things, a violation of his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. The district court granted a motion by Filarsky and the officials to dismiss the case on qualified immunity grounds, but the Ninth Circuit reversed in part, ruling that Filarsky, as a private attorney, could not enjoy immunity. Other circuit courts, however, have granted qualified immunity to private lawyers retained by the government. The Supreme Court must resolve the circuit split.

Oral argument: Dec. 5, 2011

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (Dec. 30, 2010)

Petitioner, detective Curt Messerschmidt, obtained and executed a warrant to search Respondent Augusta Millender’s residence. Millender sued Messerschmidt and other law enforcement officers under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that Messerschmidt and other officers violated her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by executing an invalid search warrant and unreasonably searching her home. The court determined that the warrant was unconstitutionally overbroad. Messerschmidt contends that he is nonetheless entitled to qualified immunity from civil liability because he relied on a warrant and acted in good faith. Millender, on the other hand, maintains that the officers’ reliance on the warrant was unreasonable, and therefore, they are not entitled to qualified immunity. The decision will determine the scope of qualified immunity for officers who have, in good faith, relied on warrants later determined to be invalid.

Oral argument: Mar. 1, 2011

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Oct. 12, 2010)

FOURTH AMENDMENT, PROBABLE CAUSE, REASONABLENESS TEST, SPECIAL NEEDS, QUALIFIED IMMUNITY

When the Oregon Department of Human Services received a report of alleged abuse against a nine-year old child, a caseworker and police officer decided to interview the child at school, without parental consent or a warrant. After the charges against the child's father, Mr. Greene, were dropped, the child’s mother, Mrs. Greene, sued the caseworker and officer for violating her daughter's Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search or seizure, arguing that probable cause is a necessary prerequisite to interviewing children about their alleged sexual abuse because such interviews may cause irreparable harm to the children when the allegations are unfounded. The caseworker and officer argue that reasonableness is the proper standard because it would be difficult to obtain probable cause when the child is often the only witness to the abuse. The Court's decision will likely clarify whether probable cause or reasonableness is the proper standard for interviewing a child who is the alleged victim of abuse without parental consent.

Oral argument: Mar. 2, 2011

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Sept. 4, 2009)

ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY, QUALIFIED IMMUNITY, MATERIAL WITNESS WARRANT, FOURTH AMENDMENT

The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Respondent Abdullah al-Kidd as a material witness in a terrorism case. Al-Kidd sued the former United States Attorney General, Petitioner John Ashcroft, alleging that he used the material witness statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3144, as a pretext to hold and investigate al-Kidd as a terrorism suspect in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Ashcroft asserted absolute immunity, claiming that the use of a material arrest warrant constituted a prosecutorial function. He also claimed qualified immunity, on the grounds that there was no established constitutional violation for using a material arrest warrant at the time of the arrest. Al-Kidd contends that Ashcroft is not entitled to either form of immunity because the arrest had an investigative function and no reasonable official could believe that a material witness warrant would authorize the arrest of a suspect without any intent to use the suspect as a witness. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Ashcroft was entitled to neither absolute nor qualified immunity. The Supreme Court’s decision will determine the protection available to government officials by resolving the issue of when the government can use material witness warrants in making arrests.

Oral argument: Nov. 1, 2010

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Mar. 12, 2009)

SUMMARY JUDGMENT, QUALIFIED IMMUNITY, APPELLATE JURISDICTION, 42 U.S.C. § 1983

After being assaulted while serving time in a federal prison, Michelle Ortiz sued two prison guards for constitutional violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment based on a defense of qualified immunity, and the case went to trial. A jury returned a verdict in favor of Ortiz, but the Sixth Circuit reversed on the basis of qualified immunity. Ortiz argues that the Sixth Circuit did not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal based on qualified immunity because the issue, originally raised on summary judgment, was not preserved for appeal after final judgment was entered at trial. Jordan argues that by filing a motion for summary judgment, the issue was preserved. The Supreme Court’s decision in this case will give guidance to litigants on how to preserve for appeal an issue that was the subject of a denied summary judgment motion.

Oral argument: Apr. 21, 2009

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (Jul. 11, 2008)

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (Mar. 22, 2004)

Oral argument: October 12, 2005

Oral argument: Dec. 10, 2008

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit (June 14, 2007)

PRISONER ABUSE, QUALIFIED IMMUNITY, PLEADING REQUIREMENTS, BIVENS, TWOMBLY, JURISDICTION

In the wake of September 11, 2001, Javaid Iqbal, a Muslim Pakistani living in New York, was arrested on a variety of federal fraud and conspiracy charges and detained in a maximum security facility. He alleges that during that detention he was subjected to a variety of treatments and conditions that violated his constitutional rights. After pleading guilty and being deported to Pakistan, Iqbal filed a civil complaint in federal court, based largely on Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, alleging twenty-one separate constitutional violations against a number of high-ranking federal officials, including former Attorney General John Ashcroft. In the district court, Ashcroft sought a motion to dismiss on the grounds that Iqbal’s claim did not contain sufficient factual allegations to overcome Ashcroft’s qualified immunity defense. The district court denied Ashcroft’s motion, and the circuit court affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine the proper pleading standards when a defendant in a Bivens action is a high-ranking government official.

Oral argument: Nov. 5, 2008

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (Mar. 28, 2007)