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Qualified Immunity

By: Derek Hawkins//April 18, 2016//

Qualified Immunity

By: Derek Hawkins//April 18, 2016//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Jilian T. Nettles-Bey

Case No.: 15-2704

Officials: FLAUM, EASTERBROOK, and SYKES, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Qualified Immunity

Because arguments raised by respondents concern what the record shows and not legal uncertainty, the appeal must wait a fully final decision.

“The case is still live in the district court, while 28 U.S.C. §1291 requires litigants to wait for final decisions before appealing. The Supreme Court held in Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511 (1985), that an order rejecting a defense of qualified immunity is final in the sense that it conclusively rejects a defendant’s claim of a right not to be tried, and the arresting officers have invoked this principle. But the Supreme Court has also held that an appeal under Mitchell is limited to a contention that doubt about legal doctrine forecloses an award of damages. The idea behind qualified immunity is that public employees who act in the shadow of legal uncertainty should not be required to pay damages if judges later resolve that uncertainty against the public actors. See, e.g., Reichle v. Howards, 132 S. Ct. 2088 (2012). But when the argument concerns what the record shows about the facts, rather than whether legal uncertainty dogs public officials who try to cope with particular situations, the appeal must await the fully final decision. Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304 (1995). Debates about material facts must be resolved at trial, for public officials no less than other litigants.”

Appeal is Dismissed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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