Kyle Kaiser is an Assistant Attorney General and Senior Trial Counsel in the Litigation Division of the Utah Attorney General’s Office. He has been with the office since July 2011.
Nicole Johnston is an Attorney Fellow with the Utah Attorney General’s Office, Litigation Division. She received her J.D. and Public Interest Certificate from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law in 2023.
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The doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials from individual liability unless their act violated “clearly established” law. Though there are calls for its reform or complete abolition, it continues to be regularly applied throughout the country.
This presentation will provide an update on the current status of qualified immunity primarily by examining published cases from the United States Court of Appeals addressing the issue from January 2023 through February 2024. It will include (1) A brief background of the qualified immunity doctrine and a description of the current state of the law from the Supreme Court, (2) A statistical review of published cases involving qualified immunity in the Courts of Appeals, (3) Highlights of Court of Appeals qualified immunity cases of interest, and (4) A look ahead to qualified immunity issues in the rest of 2024.
Presented by the FBA Civil Rights Law Section
Key topics to be discussed:
Closed-captioning available
Moderator, Kyle Kaiser, Senior Trial Counsel, Litigation Division | Utah Attorney General’s Office
Kyle Kaiser is an Assistant Attorney General and Senior Trial Counsel in the Litigation Division of the Utah Attorney General’s Office. He has been with the office since July 2011. Kyle’s practice focuses on defending claims of constitutional or civil rights violations brought against the State of Utah, its agents, agencies, and subdivisions, and Utah colleges and school districts. Kyle is also appointed as a judge pro tempore for the Salt Lake City Justice Court, presiding over civil small claims matters. Before working for the Utah AG’s Office, Kyle was employed as Staff Attorney for Justice Dale Wainwright of the Supreme Court of Texas, where he not only assisted Justice Wainwright in researching and preparing opinions and analyzing petitions for review, but was in charge of the Court’s annual hot pepper eating competition. Before that, Kyle was a litigation and intellectual property associate with the law firm of Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and served as a law clerk for Richard Dorr, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri, in Springfield. Kyle received his J.D., with high distinction, from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2003, where he was Senior Managing Editor of the Iowa Law Review, was awarded the Hancher-Finkbine Medallion, and was inducted into Order of the Coif. Kyle received his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Drake University, summa cum laude, in 2000. Away from work, Kyle enjoys spending time with his wife Pearl, their daughter Cora, and their cat Milo; camping around Utah in a 1983 Chevy RV; competing in pub trivia events (mostly virtually this year); playing percussion with the local community band and piano in the privacy of his own home; and judging mock trial competitions.
Nicole Johnston, Attorney Fellow, Litigation Division | Utah Attorney General’s Office.
Nicole Johnston is an Attorney Fellow with the Utah Attorney General’s Office, Litigation Division. She received her J.D. and Public Interest Certificate from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law in 2023. While in law school, Nicole externed for Judge Daphne Oberg at the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah and served as Articles Editor of the Utah Law Review. Nicole currently serves on the Young Lawyer Division Board for the Utah State Bar and volunteers with the Utah Law Related Education Program.
I. Point of Departure | 2:00pm – 2:05pm
II. The history of and legal standards governing the doctrine of qualified immunity as articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court (Kyle Kaiser) | 2:05pm – 2:15pm
III. The application of qualified immunity through statistical analysis of published opinions by the Courts of Appeals from January 2023 through February 2024 – number of cases, disposition of appeals, types of cases, types of defendants, and other notable statistical trends (Nicole Johnston) | 2:15pm – 2:30pm
IV. Highlights of recent important and interesting cases throughout the Courts of Appeal applying or rejecting the doctrine of qualified immunity (Kyle Kaiser & Nicole Johnston) | 2:30pm – 2:50pm
V. A quick look at potential qualified immunity reforms on the horizon | 2:50pm – 2:55pm
VI. Questions and comments | 2:55pm – 3:00pm
only $395 yearly
only $395 yearly