Events from recent years related to alleged police misconduct raised major questions surrounding the protections afforded by qualified immunity to police officers in excessive force claims. Two recent Supreme Court decisions...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
On June 28, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Lombardo v. St. Louis, 20-391, holding per curium that excessive force precedent requires courts to employ a “careful, context-specific analysis” on summary judgment. In...more
In a 5-3 decision authored by Chief Justice Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Torres v. Madrid that a woman who was shot while fleeing from police officers was “seized,” even though she remained at large. ...more
No longer entitled to near absolute immunity, MDBs may be prompted to modify their charters, lending practices, and accountability mechanisms. Key Points: ..The Supreme Court reversed the D.C. Circuit’s ruling, holding...more
On February 27, 2019, the Supreme Court held in Jam v. International Finance Corporation that international organizations may be subject to suit for their commercial activities. In order to appreciate the significance of this...more
On 27 February 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) held that International Organisations do not have absolute immunity under the International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 (IOIA). This blog discusses...more
In the global economy, companies increasingly interact with “international organizations,” or institutions created by treaty or other intergovernmental agreement. These include organizations that engage in economic and...more
On February 27, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and held that international organizations, such as the World Bank, while being protected by the...more
On February 27, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Jam v. International Finance Corp., No. 17-1011, holding that the International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 grants international organizations the...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
The Supreme Court of the United States issued two decisions today: Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, No. 16-1362: The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires that employers pay covered employees overtime compensation,...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued three decisions yesterday: National Assn. of Mfrs. v. Department of Defense, No. 16-299: In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers...more
The United States Supreme Court recently held that an officer’s use of deadly force by shooting an armed individual before issuing a verbal warning did not violate a clearly established Fourth Amendment right, and therefore,...more
Officers May Have Immunity from Liability, Supreme Court Says - Overview: The United States Supreme Court found that two police officers were immune from liability under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 even if the officers failed...more
On May 18, 2015, the United States Supreme Court decided City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan, No. 13-1412, holding that police officers were entitled to qualified immunity against a constitutional claim based on...more
Overview: The U.S. Supreme Court recently reversed a Ninth Circuit decision denying qualified immunity to a California police officer in hot pursuit of a suspected misdemeanant. The suspect had entered an enclosed front yard...more