Opinion ID: 150078
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: I find we lack jurisdiction to review Torres's appeal that he is entitled to qualified immunity because there are material issues of fact in dispute. See Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 317-20, 115 S.Ct. 2151, 132 L.Ed.2d 238 (1995); Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985) (holding that a district court's denial of a claim of qualified immunity is immediately appealable only to the extent it turns on an issue of law); see also Jeffers, 267 F.3d at 905-06 (concluding that jurisdiction extends only to whether, based on the undisputed facts, the officer is entitled to immunity as a matter of law); Collins v. Jordan, 110 F.3d 1363, 1370 (9th Cir.1997). Torres asks us to: (1) accept his version of the events on the morning of May 8, 2005; and then (2) enter judgment in his favor as a matter of law. See id. ; Armendariz v. Penman, 75 F.3d 1311, 1317 (9th Cir.1996) (en banc); Cowan v. Breen, 352 F.3d 756, 763 (2d Cir.2003) (Although [the officer] purports to rely on the undisputed evidence... his brief ... is replete with his own version of the ... to the extent [his version] is disputed by [the victim's,] [his] forms no proper basis for this appeal.) (internal citations omitted). A reviewing court may not resolve questions of fact in order to reach the legal questions. See id. at 762 (in order to accept [the officer]'s argument that, as a matter of law, his actions were objectively reasonable, one would have to accept, as a matter of fact, that [the victim posed an immediate threat].) (emphasis in original). A defendant, entitled to invoke a qualified immunity defense, may not appeal a district court's summary judgment order insofar as that order determines whether or not the pretrial record sets forth a genuine issue of fact. Johnson, 515 U.S. at 319-20, 115 S.Ct. 2151. Accordingly, we cannot rely on Torres's version of the events. See Cowan, 352 F.3d at 762; see also McCaslin v. Wilkins, 183 F.3d 775, 779 (8th Cir.1999) (reasoning that a genuine issue of material fact with regard to the threat the victim posed prevented a finding that the officer's conduct was reasonable as a matter of law). Based on the foregoing, I would dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.