Section 3617

Citation: Section 3617
Parent Document: Gonzalez v. Lee County Housing Authority, 161 F.3d 1290 (1998)
Jurisdiction: United States (federal)
Effective Date: 1998-12-02
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/73387/gonzalez-v-lee-county-housing-authority/ ↗

Full Text

1,738 chars

A public official forfeits qualified immunity by violating the clear command of a federal regulation that, like section 100.400(c)(3), reinforces a statute and thus helps to provide the basis for a cause of action. The Supreme Court has concluded that administrative regulations, in and of themselves, do not provide sufficient notice to override officials’ qualified immunity when the plaintiff alleges a violation of broadly conceived constitutional rights. See Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183, 193-96, 104 S.Ct. 3012, 3018-20, 82 L.Ed.2d 139 (1984); see also Childress v. Small Bus. Admin., 825 F.2d 1550, 1553 (11th Cir.1987)(quoting Davis, 468 U.S. at 194 n. 12, 104 S.Ct. at 3019 n. 12); Harbert Int’l, Inc. v. James, 157 F.3d 1271, 1285-86 (11th Cir.1998). As the Supreme Court explained, because every failure to obey a regulation could potentially provide the basis for the assertion of a constitutional right — even one “that was not clearly defined or perhaps not even foreshadowed at the time of the alleged violation” — the mere breach of a regulation cannot, in itself, defeat a defendant’s qualified immunity. Davis, 468 U.S. at 195, 104 S.Ct. at 3019. The reason for this rule is obvious given the rationale underlying the qualified immunity doctrine: public officers should have fair warning of what actions will expose them to the threat of lawsuits and eventual liability. “[Officials can act without fear of harassing litigation only if they reasonably can anticipate when their conduct may give rise to liability for damages____” Davis, 468 U.S. at 195, 104 S.Ct. at 3019. Accordingly, we do not expect state officials to be aware of every regulation that indirectly might give rise to a possible constitutional claim.

Other Sections in This Document (884)

Full Text