Martinez v. High, a case out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, recently explored the intersection of duty of care and the State-Created Danger Doctrine, challenging law enforcement to carefully balance their protective role with the potential dangers their […]
Background In Hemry v. Ross, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed the issues of false arrest and excessive force during an investigative stop when Yellowstone National Park Rangers mistook the identity of a family, believing that they were
High-Stakes Traffic Stop: When Guns, Fugitives, and Family Collide Continue Reading »
Our case today from the Tenth Circuit covers qualified immunity and excessive force and brings up another case that is important to note when handling qualified immunity: Heck v. Humphrey. While we often discuss qualified immunity cases, many of them
How Qualified Immunity is Affected by Clearly Established Law Continue Reading »
The case of Gambrel v. Knox County, 25 F.4th 391 (6th Cir. 2022) brings to light the complex issue of qualified immunity and the use of deadly force by law enforcement. The Sixth Circuit overturned a decision on qualified immunity
Witness’s Change of Story Causes Qualified Immunity Decision to Change Continue Reading »
In the Seventh Circuit case of Bayon v. Berkebile, qualified immunity was denied for officers who mistakenly believed that the plaintiff had a gun. The incident became complicated due to the numerous conflicting versions from both the plaintiff and the
Weighing Qualified Immunity Against Several Versions of the Same UOF Incident Continue Reading »
In today’s case from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals our officers made several mistakes that led to the court ruling against qualified immunity for them. Police officers are “entitled to qualified immunity unless: (1) the evidence, viewed in the
Wrongful Seizure Leads to Denial of Qualified Immunity for Officers Continue Reading »
Browning v. Edmonson County, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 34090 (6th Cir. KY Nov. 17, 2021) Today’s case from the Sixth Circuit involves a high-speed car chase, a potentially armed suspect, and use of force. This case highlights some terminology that
Ministerial Versus Discretionary and How They Affect Qualified Immunity Continue Reading »
Today’s case is a reminder of how careful you need to be when conducting a traffic stop. The situation we will discuss today started off as a regular stop with the suspect remaining cooperative, until things took a sharp turn
Let Go of the Car: Qualified Immunity Granted after an Escalated Traffic Stop Continue Reading »
Our case today, from the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, outlines qualified immunity and excessive use of force. Before we get into the details of the case, a recap of qualified immunity when it is weighed
In the second of two SCOTUS opinions released on the subject of qualified immunity, the Court overturned a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision. The Tenth Circuit Court relied on case law that “allows an officer to be held liable
SCOTUS: Qualified Immunity, Continued Continue Reading »
On October 18, 2021, the United States Supreme Court issued two per curiam decisions on the topic of qualified immunity. Per curiam (“by the court”) opinions refer to a decision made on behalf of the entire court without a particular judge or justice’s name attached to the
SCOTUS: Qualified Immunity Continue Reading »
In Emmett v. Armstrong, we travel over to the Tenth Circuit to examine a taser and UOF case. This case is from 2020, but raises some important use of force topics regarding tasers and qualified immunity. To begin, a review of Electronic Control Weapon
A Refresher on Tasers – Tenth Circuit Continue Reading »
