Hathaway v. Coughlin

I respectfully dissent, because in my view Dr. Foote’s qualified immunity is amply shown on the fullest possible record — the. transcript of a full trial on the merits.

I

In evaluating Dr. Foote’s claim of qualified immunity, the majority frames the critical question as “whether a reasonable jury could conclude that [Dr.] Foote exhibited deliberate indifference to Hathaway’s serious medical needs.” That is not the standard for considering qualified immunity. The applicable standard is the one announced in the last paragraph of the majority opinion: whether it was objectively reasonable for Dr.…