South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

Jun 5, 2026

Qualified immunity shields social worker in foster placement case

Even assuming the placement of a foster teenager with a known history of sexual misconduct into their home created a serious risk of harm, plaintiffs failed to identify clearly […]

Jun 2, 2026

Excessive force allegations against officers survive dismissal

A plaintiff sufficiently alleged a Fourth Amendment excessive force claim where he asserted that officers slammed him to the ground, fractured his arm and applied pressure to his throat during […]

Apr 29, 2026

Group pleading defeats deliberate indifference claim against detention officers

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that conclusory, group-based allegations failed to state a plausible claim that individual detention officers were deliberately indifferent to a detainee’s […]

Mar 30, 2026

U.S. Supreme Court backs officer in excessive force case

The doctrine of qualified immunity applied to bar an excessive force suit brought by a protestor who alleged she suffered physical and psychological […]

Mar 27, 2026

Appeals court deals blow to women inmates suing over scabies outbreak

Michigan prison officials can’t be held liable under the U.S. Constitution for incompetent handling of a scabies outbreak by contracted medical providers, a federal appeals court has ruled. The U.S. […]

Mar 20, 2026

Failure-to-protect claim over prison assault revived

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that genuine disputes of material fact barred summary judgment for prison officers accused of failing to protect the plaintiff from a violent […]

Mar 17, 2026

4th Circuit partially affirms denial of out-of-cell exercise claim at South Carolina prison

Genuine disputes of material fact existed as to whether prison officials violated Appellant’s Eighth Amendment right to humane conditions of confinement by denying him out-of-cell exercise for extended periods. We […]

May 9, 2025

Fourth circuit vacates denial of qualified immunity in mistaken‑identity shooting

The Fourth Circuit vacated a district court order that denied qualified immunity to defendant, a city police officer who mistakenly shot plaintiff, a federal task‑force officer, during the execution of […]

Dec 3, 2024

4th Circuit: Officers entitled to qualified immunity in shooting

Where the undisputed evidence showed that, just before the officers fired, a man’s gun was pointed at two officers, the officers’ use of force in response to this perceived threat […]

Nov 26, 2024

4th Circuit: Indictment doesn’t shield officers from claim

Where a man was indicted by federal and state grand juries for drug crimes, but he alleged that law enforcement withheld exculpatory evidence that was material to the finding of […]

Oct 1, 2024

4th Circuit: Ruling reinstates lawsuit over search

Where an inmate alleged that prison officials violated his rights by violently pulling a contraband phone out of his rectum in a prison shower, the District Court erred by granting […]

Jul 19, 2024

Court: Officers who handcuffed 10-year-old can be sued for excessive force

Three Honolulu police officers can be sued on excessive force claims for their part in handcuffing and arresting a 10-year-old girl at Honowai Elementary School in 2020, according to a […]