The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated and remanded a District Court opinion that denied qualified immunity to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer. In Belton v. Loveridge, the appellate court held the trial...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued one decision today: Barnes v. Felix, No. 23-1239: This criminal procedure case concerns the proper scope of analysis for Fourth Amendment excessive force claims....more
Law enforcement critics have launched concerted attacks on the doctrine of qualified immunity in an effort to mischaracterize the doctrine as allowing police officers to escape liability for clearly unconstitutional conduct. ...more
A while back I wrote about the collateral order doctrine as discussed by the Fourth Circuit in Williams v. Strickland. Williams involved an alleged excessive force claim against a law enforcement officer and an...more
The US Supreme Court issued an Opinion April 2, 2018 (Kisela v. Hughes) that a Tucson Police officer was justified in shooting a woman who was holding a knife near her roommate after the woman was reported exhibiting...more
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a Tucson police officer who shot a woman four times could not be sued for violating the woman’s Constitutional rights. The case is a significant win for government officials. It’s a...more