Hunter v. Bryant

Summary

The Court held per curiam that the Secret Service agents were entitled to qualified immunity because a reasonable officer could have believed probable cause existed to arrest Bryant for threatening the President, even if that belief was mistaken. It rejected the Ninth Circuit's approach of routinely assigning immunity to the jury and asking whether a more reasonable interpretation of the evidence existed. Justice Scalia concurred in the judgment without joiners, concluding that the Ninth Circuit stated the correct standard but misapplied it. Justice Stevens dissented without joiners, concluding that the correct standard had been applied and that the agents had not established entitlement to summary judgment when the evidence was viewed favorably to Bryant. Justice Kennedy dissented without joiners, favoring full briefing and oral argument rather than summary reversal. Justice Thomas did not participate.