Opinion ID: 625611
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Discussion.Qualified Immunity

Text: If the law at that time did not clearly establish that the officer's conduct would violate the Constitution, the officer should not be subject to liability or, indeed, even the burdens of litigation. It is important to emphasize that this inquiry must be undertaken in light of the specific context of the case, not as a broad general proposition. Brosseau v. Haugen, 543 U.S. 194, 125 S.Ct. 596, 599, 160 L.Ed.2d 583 (2004) (internal quotations and citation omitted). Qualified immunity to a great extent protects government officials performing discretionary functions; it should protect all officials except the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law. Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 106 S.Ct. 1092, 1096, 89 L.Ed.2d 271 (1986). And government actors are not required to err on the side of caution. Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183, 104 S.Ct. 3012, 3020, 82 L.Ed.2d 139 (1984). Here, in placing C.H. with an adoptive family, Defendants were unquestionably state officials acting within the scope of their discretionary authority. So, Plaintiffs bear the burden of showing that qualified immunity does not apply. In this case, because the preexisting law at the time did not already clearly establish that what the social workers did violated the Victim's federal rights, we must reverse the District Court's denial of summary judgment. Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity.