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U.S. Supreme Court Recedes from Saucier’s Mandatory Provisions for Determining Qualified Immunity Claims
by David M. Reutter
The U.S. Supreme Court has retreated from a mandatory procedural practice for resolving government officials’ qualified immunity claims, leaving it to the discretion of lower courts as to which prong of the test to apply as required by the facts of the case.
At issue was …
The U.S. Supreme Court has retreated from a mandatory procedural practice for resolving government officials’ qualified immunity claims, leaving it to the discretion of lower courts as to which prong of the test to apply as required by the facts of the case.
At issue was …
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More from this issue:
- Anatomy of the Modern Prisoners’ Rights Suit: A Practitioner’s Guide to Successful Jury Trials on Behalf of Prisoner-Plaintiffs*, by Alphonse A. Gerhardstein
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Innocent Georgia Man Receives $500,000 as Compensation for Rape Conviction
- Former Prisoner Convicted of Impersonating Criminal Defense Attorney
- Why False Imprisonment Recoveries Should Not Be Taxable, by Robert Wood
- Texas’ Parole Condition X Violates Due Process, by Gary Hunter
- $2.16 Million Settlement in Dauphin Pennsylvania Jail Strip Search Lawsuit
- Using Chemical Agents on Mentally Ill Prisoners Unconstitutional, by David Reutter
- Audit Finds California Prison Receiver Broke State Law by Making No-Bid Contracts with Verizon, by Michael Brodheim
- Fifth Circuit Upholds $14 Million Award Against Louisiana DA’s Office in Wrongful Conviction Suit; Affirmed by En Banc Ruling, by Matthew Clarke
- Third Circuit Upholds Pennsylvania DOC Policy Requiring Control Number for Legal Mail, by David Reutter
- Third Circuit Upholds Ban on UCC Materials; Sixth Circuit Disagrees, by Brandon Sample
- Working in Legal Field Not Prohibited While on Federal Supervised Release
- Prisoners Not Evacuated, Parolees Rounded Up as Hurricanes Hit, by Gary Hunter
- Contraband Smuggling by Texas Prison Guards Rarely Punished Harshly, by Matthew Clarke
- Oklahoma Prisoner Beaten to Death After Celled with Co-Defendant He Testified Against
- California Lifers’ New Litigation Tool: DA’s “Opinion” and Governor’s “Belief” Do Not Constitute “Evidence” in Parole Denial Cases, by Marvin Mentor
- Notice Required for Rejected Packages BOP Warden Denied Qualified Immunity, by Brandon Sample
- Organ Harvesting In China Prison Goes High Tech, by Gary Hunter
- Former Oklahoma Sheriff Convicted of Sex Crimes Now Where to Put Him?
- Federal Three-Judge Panel Orders California To Reduce Prison Population By 44,000 Prisoners Within Two Years, by Marvin Mentor
- New York’s Correction Law § 24 Held Unconstitutional by US Supreme Court, by Brandon Sample
- $25,000 Award to Utah Muslim Prisoner Attacked by Death Row Prisoner Following 9/11
- FBI And States Expand Collection Of DNA To The Innocent, by Brandon Sample
- Sheriff and Guards Indicted: Sex, Misconduct and Contraband Scandal at Texas Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Washington States Passes New Law for Automatic Restoration of Voting Rights, by Eric Nygren
- Philadelphia Tax Break for Hiring Ex-Prisoners a Bust
- U.S. Supreme Court Recedes from Saucier’s Mandatory Provisions for Determining Qualified Immunity Claims, by David Reutter
- California: Parole Board’s Policy Barring Friendly Oral Witness Testimony At Lifer Hearings Ruled An “Underground Regulation”, by Marvin Mentor
- $3.75 Million Settlement for Orange County, California, Jail Detainee Severely Beaten by Prisoners
- Violence on the Rise in Arizona Prisons, by David Reutter
- Maryland Prisoners Receive Kosher Food, by Brandon Sample
- From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of Black Panther Robert Hillary King, Oakland, CA: PM Press (2009) $24.95 hardback, 217 pages, by Mel Motel
- Sixth Circuit Overturns $625,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Sexually Abused by Guard, by Brandon Sample
- Oklahoma Prisoner Awarded $65,000 for Inadequate MSRA Care, by Brandon Sample
- $1 Million Settlement in Santa Clara, California Jail Suicide
- No Qualified Immunity for Guards Who Failed to Help Vomiting Prisoner Who Died
- Indigent Texas Prisoners May No Longer be Required to Repay Cost of Court-Appointed Counsel
- California Prison Still Subpar, Grand Jury Finds
- News in Brief:
- $1,000 Jury Award to Beaten Missouri Prisoner
More from David Reutter:
- Tenth Circuit: Colorado Governor Unentitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on Claim Related to DOC Religious Policies, Aug. 1, 2026
- Michigan Appeals Court: Witnesses Cannot be Forced to Wear Jail Clothes at Trial, Aug. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of State-Law Qualified Immunity in Scabies Case, Aug. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, Aug. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026
- Florida Supreme Court Announces Rule 3.170(f)’s Good-Cause Plea-Withdrawal Standard Does Not Apply at Post-Appeal Resentencing, April 1, 2026
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Defendant Must Be Competent Before Undergoing Mental-Condition Examination Under § 16-8-107(3)(b), April 1, 2026
- California Court of Appeal Announces Plea Agreements Cannot Bar § 1172.1 Resentencing, Holds Merit-Based Denial of Petition Is Appealable, April 1, 2026
- Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies That Failure to Object to Ineligible Juror Does Not Constitute Waiver Unless Party Knew or Could Have Discovered Ineligibility Through Ordinary Diligence, April 1, 2026
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, March 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, Aug. 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.
- Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, Aug. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Eyewitness Identification, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Physical Injury Rule, Qualified Immunity, Informants (Failure to Protect), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of State-Law Qualified Immunity in Scabies Case, Aug. 1, 2026. Corizon, Systemic Medical Neglect, Contagious Disease -- Misc., Qualified Immunity, Deliberate Indifference.
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, Aug. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Exercise, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity.
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, Aug. 1, 2026. COVID-19, Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Class Certification, Qualified Immunity.
- $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.
- 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.
- 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.
- $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.

