Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982)

E403303

Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982), is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that redefined qualified immunity by holding that government officials are shielded from civil liability so long as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case ⓘ
landmark qualified immunity case ⓘ
appliedIn Bivens-type actions for damages ⓘ
Section 1983 actions by analogy ⓘ
appliesTo federal executive officials performing discretionary functions ⓘ
areaOfLaw civil rights litigation ⓘ
constitutional law ⓘ
federal courts and procedure ⓘ
citation 457 U.S. 800 ⓘ
citationInLaterCases Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635 (1987) ⓘ
Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511 (1985) ⓘ
Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (2009) ⓘ
Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194 (2001) ⓘ
concurrenceBy Justice Harry A. Blackmun ⓘ
linked to: Harry A. Blackmun

Justice Thurgood Marshall ⓘ
linked to: Thurgood Marshall

Justice William J. Brennan Jr. ⓘ
court Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decisionDate 1982-06-24 ⓘ
dissentBy Justice William H. Rehnquist ⓘ
docketNumber 80-945 ⓘ
doesNotApplyTo the President of the United States ⓘ
effectOnLitigation facilitated early resolution of insubstantial claims on summary judgment ⓘ
fullCaseName Harlow et al. v. Fitzgerald ⓘ
holding Government officials performing discretionary functions are shielded from civil damages liability as long as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. ⓘ
impact redefined the modern doctrine of qualified immunity in U.S. law ⓘ
joinedByInMajority Chief Justice Warren E. Burger ⓘ
linked to: Warren E. Burger

Justice Byron R. White ⓘ
linked to: Byron R. White

Justice Harry A. Blackmun ⓘ
linked to: Harry A. Blackmun

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor ⓘ
Justice Thurgood Marshall ⓘ
linked to: Thurgood Marshall

Justice William H. Rehnquist ⓘ
Justice William J. Brennan Jr. ⓘ
jurisdiction federal question jurisdiction ⓘ
keyPhrase clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known ⓘ
legalIssue civil liability for constitutional violations ⓘ
qualified immunity of government officials ⓘ
majorityOpinionBy Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. ⓘ
linked to: Lewis F. Powell Jr.
overruledOrModifiedPriorLaw subjective good-faith component of qualified immunity ⓘ
petitioner Harlow ⓘ
proceduralPosture appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ⓘ
reasoningFocus balancing the need to hold public officials accountable with the need to shield them from harassment and distraction ⓘ
relatedCase Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 731 (1982) ⓘ
linked to: Nixon v. Fitzgerald
relatedDoctrine absolute immunity for the President from civil damages liability for official acts ⓘ
replacedSubjectiveStandardWith purely objective test based on clearly established law ⓘ
respondent A. Ernest Fitzgerald ⓘ
standardEstablished clearly established law standard for qualified immunity ⓘ
standardType objective reasonableness standard ⓘ
term October Term 1981 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

42 U.S.C. § 1983 → interpretedBy → Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982) ⓘ
United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court → hasNotableCase → Harlow v. Fitzgerald ⓘ
linked to: Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982)
Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982) → fullCaseName → Harlow et al. v. Fitzgerald ⓘ
linked to: Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982)