Law Atlas

How The Law Decides
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Doctrine

Qualified Immunity

Tort and Equity Doctrine
Origin 1967, Pierson v. Ray; modern objective test set in 1982, Harlow v. Fitzgerald.

Qualified immunity is a doctrine of United States law that shields government officials performing discretionary functions from civil liability for money damages, unless the plaintiff shows the official violated a clearly established statutory or constitutional right of which a reasonable official would have known. The Supreme Court first recognized a version of the doctrine in Pierson v. Ray (1967) and set out its modern objective test in Harlow v. Fitzgerald (1982); the doctrine has drawn sustained judicial and academic criticism over its statutory foundation, including a concurrence from Justice Clarence Thomas in Ziglar v. Abbasi (2017) questioning its basis. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Origin Period
1967, Pierson v. Ray; modern objective test set in 1982, Harlow v. Fitzgerald. 1
Core Principle
Government officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. 1
Origin Period
Origin Period (category)
20th Century (1900-1999) 1
Classification
Doctrine Category
Constitutional Law 1
Connections

Associated With

State Action Doctrine, Doctrines

In Area Of Law

Constitutional Law, Doctrines

In Legal System

Law of the United States, Legal Systems
Source Qualified Immunity (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Qualified Immunity (Wikipedia)
  • Harlow v. Fitzgerald standard section
    government officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.
  • a legal doctrine in United States law that grants government officials immunity from prosecution or lawsuits unless the official violated civil or constitutional rights
  • In Legal System: Law of the United States
  • In Group: Liability, Immunity and Nuisance Doctrines, Introduction, sentence 1
    Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine in United States law that grants government officials-in the performance of their duties-immunity from prosecution or lawsuits unless the prosecutor or plaintiff shows that the official violated civil or constitutional rights, or acted outside of their scope of authority.
View the Source
Qualified Immunity (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School)
Definition section, tracing origin to Harlow v Fitzgerald
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.