Opinion ID: 4486948
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Standard Of Review For Qualified Immunity.

Text: Qualified immunity shields government actors from civil liability for official acts that do not violate clearly established constitutional rights. Walker v. Davis, 649 F.3d 502, 503 (6th Cir. 2011). Whether government actors have violated a clearly established constitutional right is treated as a two-question inquiry: (1) did a violation of a constitutional right occur, and, if it did, (2) was that right clearly established at the time of the violation? Baynes v. Cleland, 799 F.3d 600, 609–10 (6th Cir. 2015). We review the legal aspects of the district court’s decision to deny qualified immunity de novo. Harrison v. Ash, 539 F.3d 510, 516 (6th Cir. 2008) (citing Monette v. Elec. Data Sys. Corp., 90 F.3d 1173, 1176 (6th Cir. 1996)). In so doing, we accept the facts assumed by the district court, which in turn considered the record in the light most favorable to Jones, the non-moving party. Coffey v. Carroll, 933 F.3d 577, 584 (6th Cir. 2019) (citing Thompson v. Grida, 656 F.3d 365, 367 (6th Cir. 2011)). Important to today’s case is the understanding that, in making this inquiry, we do not lump together each of the relevant government actors. Rather, we assess each actor’s liability on an individual basis. Dorsey v. Barber, 517 F.3d 389, 399 n.4 (6th Cir. 2008) (citing Ghandi v. Police Dep’t of the City of Detroit, 747 F.2d 338, 352 (6th Cir. 1984)). This principle follows from the Supreme Court’s instruction that public officials be held accountable for their own actions, but not the actions of others. Ghandi, 747 F.2d at 352 (citing Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362, 377 ( 1976)). No. 18-4157 Jones v. City of Elyria, Ohio, et al. Page 8