Courts Push Back on Qualified Immunity in Police Stop and Judge Detention Cases

Two recent appellate decisions illustrate the narrowing of qualified immunity for government officials. Mario Rosales and Gracie Lasyone sued Alexandria, Louisiana officers Samuel Terrell and Jim Lewis for an unlawful traffic stop, 21-minute detention, and searches; the 5th Circuit concluded the plaintiffs plausibly alleged Fourth Amendment violations, citing a 1968 Supreme Court rule that detention requires reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and frisking requires belief the person is armed and dangerous.

The officers' argument that no clear precedent existed was rejected. In a separate Missouri case, Judge Eric Eighmy detained two children for up to forty minutes after a custody dispute, despite lacking probable cause; the 8th Circuit unanimously held that such a warrantless arrest violates the Fourth Amendment and that the lack of a fact-identical precedent does not shield the judge. Both panels underscored that longstanding constitutional principles can override qualified immunity even in novel fact patterns.