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Qualified Immunity Hinges on All Relevant Law
Loaded on May 15, 1994
published in Prison Legal News
May, 1994, page 10
While this is not a prison case we are reporting it because it is a Supreme Court ruling affecting qualified immunity defenses. Qualified immunity allows government officials to escape liability for money damages, even when they violate constitutional rights, as long as the right violated was not "clearly established" at …
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More from this issue:
- Giving Cons and Ex-Cons the Vote, by Andrew Shapiro
- Drugging of Prisoners Upheld
- Lifers Vote in General Election
- Consent Decree Creates Right to Uninspected Legal Mail
- OK State Courts Can Hear Prison Suits
- Stay of Suit Not Appealable
- Prison Officials Can't Prevent Jailhouse Lawyers From Assisting Other Prisoners
- Witnesses May Be Subpoenaed at Government Expense
- AZ DOC Denies Court Access
- Evidence Required to Sustain Disciplinary Ruling
- Prisoner Litigants Have Right to Out of State Citations
- Phone Company State Actor for Section 1983
- Atheist Challenges AA Probation Requirement
- Visitor Awarded Damages
- ISRB Must Follow Own Rules
- Improper Testimony Requires Reversal
- Accessible Facilities Required for Disabled
- VT Class Action Suit
- FL Reforms Sentencing Law
- Medical Claims Standards Discussed
- WA Civil Commitment Challenged
- Qualified Immunity Hinges on All Relevant Law
- Hearing Required Before Denial of IFP
- CDC Spreads Gangs
- NJ Prison "Emergency" 12 Years Old
- Prisoner Beating Filmed
- Petty Drug Criminals Fill BOP
- Prison Rape Survivors Sought
- Justice Watch, by Dan Cahill
- Informants Must be Reliable
- DOJ Orders MS Jails Closed
- Guard's Attack for Smoking States Claim
- Ask the Media if Crime pays, Then Who's Footing the Bill?, by Dan Pens
- Prisoners Employed by PIA Seek Minimum Wages, by Mark Merin
- Chelan County Jailer Jailed
- Slaves of the State, by Paul Wright
- Prisoners = Profit, by Anthony Sciarrino
- News in Brief
- From The Editor, by Paul Wright
- Algerian Prison Break
- Chilean Prisoners Resist Control Unit Move
- Book Review: Subpoena George Bush - The Anatomy of a Cover Up, by John Perotti
- Marion Prisoners to be Moved Soon, by Ray Luc Levasseur
More from these topics:
- 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.
- The Recycled Police Officer: Research Reveals High Cost of Ignoring Prior Misconduct, May 1, 2026. Harassment by Police, Police Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Excessive Force (Police), Police/Govt Misconduct.
- $2.75 Million Paid by Washington County and NaphCare for Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026. Naphcare, Qualified Immunity, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Deliberate Indifference.
- $10.3 Million Paid for Teen’s Death at Kansas Juvenile Detention Facility, April 1, 2026. Restraints, Qualified Immunity, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Case Against Guards Who Failed to Intervene As Chaplain Sexually Assaulted Arkansas Prisoner, March 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Prison Rape Elimination Act, Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise.
- Sixth Circuit Revives Michigan Prisoner’s Challenge to Guard Tackle That Broke His Foot, March 1, 2026. Evidentiary Ruling (Disciplinary Hearings), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Louisiana Prisoner Sustains Claim Against Prison Doctor for Allowing Assignment to “Field Duty” Despite Known Ankle Injury, March 1, 2026. Inability to Work, Skeletal Injury, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity, Deliberate Indifference.
- Tenth Circuit Affirmed Denial of Guards Qualified Immunity in Disabled Detainee’s Fourteenth Amendment Claim, March 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Michigan Claws Back $1.2 Million Paid to Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner, Feb. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Imprisonment, Qualified Immunity, Forensic Sciences, Fabrication of Evidence.
- Ninth Circuit: Notice of Appeal of Order Denying Qualified Immunity Must Be Filed Within 30 Days of Entry, Feb. 1, 2026. Liberty Interests, Evidence, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights.

