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7 canonical passages across 5 cases, quoted by 17,698 opinions in total. These passages cluster together because the same opinions keep quoting them side by side: they state parts of one doctrine. The anchor passage is from Harlow v. Fitzgerald.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harlow v. Fitzgerald Anchor | green | “government officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” | 7,595 |
| 2 | Anderson v. Creighton | green | “the contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right.” | 2,450 |
| 3 | Pearson v. Callahan | green | “the doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials 'from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” | 2,370 |
| 4 | Malley v. Briggs | green | “all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.” | 1,688 |
| 5 | Pearson v. Callahan | green | “which of the two prongs of the qualified immunity analysis should be addressed first in light of the circumstances in the particular case at hand.” | 1,418 |
| 6 | Ashcroft v. al-Kidd | green | “existing precedent must have placed the statutory or constitutional question beyond debate.” | 1,112 |
| 7 | Pearson v. Callahan | green | “qualified immunity balances two important interests-the need to hold public officials accountable when they exercise power irresponsibly and the need to shield officials from harassment, distraction, and liability when they perform their duties reasonably.” | 1,065 |
A red or yellow flag on a member means the underlying case has negative treatment: for those, check the case page before relying on the passage.