The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and White & Case LLP filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of Malikah Asante-Chioke, the daughter of Jabari Asante-Chioke, a 52-year-old Black man who was unlawfully shot and killed by police officers employed by Louisiana State Police (“LSP”) and the East Jefferson Levee District Police Department in 2021.
On August 31, 2023, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled that, at the pleading stage, Ms. Asante-Chioke’s allegations against officers Nicholas Dowdle, Jonathan Downing, and Gerard Duplessis (the “Shooting Defendants”) overcame their qualified-immunity defense. The district court also issued an order denying the officers’ request that discovery should be limited to issues of qualified immunity in anticipation of a ruling on qualified immunity at the summary judgment stage. The LSP Defendants appealed the discovery order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit under the collateral order doctrine, which allows §1983 defendants to appeal non-final denials of qualified immunity. The Fifth Circuit held that it had jurisdiction over the interlocutory appeal of the discovery order and vacated the lower court’s order and instructed the district court to “limit discovery to uncover only the facts necessary to rule on qualified immunity.” In the same decision, the Fifth Circuit also ruled that the District Court correctly denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss because for the Shooting Defendants to have continued shooting Mr. Asante-Chioke after he was incapacitated was a violation of his civil rights.
Before the Supreme Court, the ACLU of Louisiana and White & Case argued that the Fifth Circuit’s decision to vacate the discovery order deepened an existing circuit split on whether discovery orders in qualified immunity cases are immediately appealable and that the Fifth Circuit’s approach to interlocutory appeals of discovery orders in qualified immunity cases is incorrect. The petition explained that the Fifth Circuit’s decision conflicts with prior decisions from the First, Fourth, and Sixth Circuits on the immediate appealability of discovery orders in qualified immunity cases. Allowing interlocutory appeals of discovery orders in qualified immunity cases will open courts to a steady stream of litigation and will severely burden plaintiffs seeking justice in the face of qualified immunity defenses. The petition notes that these appeals are only available to defendants and therefore create even greater asymmetry and unfairness between the parties.
Three groups filed amicus briefs urging the Court to grant Ms. Asante-Chioke’s petition for a writ of certiorari.
Professor Michael Solimine (represented by Akerman attorneys Angad Bhai and Benjamin Joelson) explained that the Fifth Circuit expansion of interlocutory appeals would further exacerbate the costs and delays for §1983 plaintiffs. They also explained that the pendent appellant jurisdiction exercised in the Fifth Circuit’s decision would permit defendants not entitled to a qualified immunity defense to benefit from it.
Professors Erwin Chemerinsky and David Rudosky (represented by Cravath attorneys Antony Ryan and Eve Bain) explained that appellate jurisdiction over interlocutory appeals in qualified immunity cases does not extend to fact-related disputes like discovery orders and that allowing this sort of interlocutory appeal would be a distortion of the collateral order doctrine by permitting unlimited asymmetric appeals only for defendants.
Finally, the Cato Institute and Public Accountability explained that the collateral order doctrine is inappropriate “freewheeling judicial policymaking” and is plainly obsolete today. They explained that allowing interlocutory appeals of qualified-immunity denials would be a serious mistake and would wreak jurisdictional havoc.
Respondents initially waived their reply to the petition, but the Supreme Court requested their response. The Supreme Court denied cert on January 13, 2025.
Ms. Asante-Chioke is represented by Nora Ahmed at the ACLU of Louisiana and a team of attorneys at White & Case LLP, including Dana Foster, Erika Murdoch, Logan Quinn, Alexander Schwennicke, Soraya Todd, Saambavi Mano, and Lindsey China.