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Qualified Immunity Law Clarified
Loaded on Feb. 15, 1994
published in Prison Legal News
February, 1994, page 3
Joseph Rankin was a pretrial detainee in the Harris County, Texas, jail. While awaiting a court appearance in a large holding cell a disturbance broke out after female prisoners passed in front of the cell. A deputy sheriff removed Rankin from the cell and, according to Rankin's complaint, placed him …
Filed under:
Excessive Force,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Appeals,
Qualified Immunity.
Location:
Texas.
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More from this issue:
- How to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses at Trial, by Paul Wright
- Ninth Circuit Upholds Ban on Attorney Contact Visits
- Murder Incorporated, by Bill Dunne
- Qualified Immunity Law Clarified
- California DOC Starts Use of Electric Fence
- Shackling of Con Litigants Discussed
- Reviews, by Paul Wright
- Estate Proper Party When Defendant Dies
- Officials Must Assess Informant's Credibility
- Delay of Medical Care States Claim
- Prisoner Entitled to Interest From Prison Account
- Loved One in Prison?
- No Right to TV Interviews
- More Censorship and Repression in Indiana
- Twenty-Seven Cons Die in El Salvador Riot
- Class Differences in Crime Control, by Ed Mead
- What's Wrong in the Ohio DOC?, by John Perotti
- City Liable for Negligent Medical Care
- Involuntary PC Violates Due Process
- WA DOC Wants to Open New Prison, Close Old Ones
- Attorneys File Briefs for Peruvian POW's, by Paul Wright
- Third Circuit Announces Rules for Appointment of Counsel
- Rule of Law or Rule of Five?, by Mark Tushnet
- Court Upholds Silencing of Dan Quayle's Drug Supplier
- From The Editor, by Paul Wright
More from these topics:
- Federal Conviction, Guilty Pleas for Jail Guards Responsible for Oklahoma Detainee’s Death, July 1, 2026. Misconduct/Corruption, Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Excessive Force, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions.
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Systemic Medical Neglect, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Warden, Four Other Louisiana Jailers Indicted for Brutalizing Compliant Detainees with Riot Shield, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Wrongful Use of Force.
- $112,500 Paid to Former New Mexico Prisoner Denied Public Records of Excessive Force by Guards, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Public Records Act, False Imprisonment.
- $75,000 for Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim Against Jail Guard, June 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability, Wrongful Use of Force.
- $1 Million Settlement Reached in Jail Suicide of Maryland Detainee Whose Emergency Hospitalization Order Was Ignored, June 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Two More Guards Face Prison Time for Messiah Nantwi Killing, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Sentencing, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- Sixth Circuit Rules Prisoner Held After Parole Board Ordered Release on Parole Could Not State a Rights Violation Claim, June 1, 2026. Parole, Overdetention, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Sanitation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Consent Decrees, Bail/Pretrial Release.
- Fourth Circuit Revives North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Blaming Lazy Guards for Assault by Detainee, May 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.

