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)

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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

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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)