Marian Johnson, et al. v. Kristine L. Fankell (520 U.S. 911)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 9, 1997 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 520 U.S. 911 · 117 S. Ct. 1800
- Decided
- June 9, 1997
- Term
- October Term 1996
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. The question presented is whether defendants in an action brought under Rev. Stat. § 1979, 42 U. S. C. § 1983, in state court have a federal right to an interlocutory appeal from a denial of qualified immunity. We hold that they do not. I Petitioners are officials of the Idaho Liquor Dispensary. Respondent, a former liquor store clerk, brought this action for damages under §1983 in the District Court for the County of Bonner, Idaho. She alleged that petitioners deprived her of property without due process of law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution when they terminated her employment. Petitioners moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that they were entitled to qualified immunity. They contended that, at the time of respondent’s dismissal, they reasonably believed that she was a probationary employee who had no property interest in her job. Accordingly, petitioners argued, her termination did not violate clearly established law. The trial court denied the motion, and petitioners filed a timely notice of appeal to the Supreme Court of the State of Idaho. The State Supreme Court entered an order dismissing the appeal. The court explained that an order denying a motion for summary judgment is not appealable under Idaho Appellate Rule 11(a)(1) “for the reason it is not from a final order or…
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