Mixed Signals on Summary Judgment

16 Pages Posted: 15 Aug 2014

See all articles by Howard Wasserman

Howard Wasserman

Florida International University (FIU) - College of Law

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: August 8, 2014

Abstract

This essay examines three cases from the Supreme Court’s October Term 2013 that addressed the standards for summary judgment. In one, the Court affirmed summary judgment against a civil rights plaintiff; in two others the Court rejected the grant of summary judgment against civil rights plaintiffs, arguably for the first time in quite awhile, but in procedurally confounding ways. The essay unpacks the substance and procedure of all three decisions, and considers their likely effect and what signals they send to lower courts and litigants about the proper approach to summary judgment.

Keywords: Courts; Procedure; Summary judgment; Civil Rights; § 1983; Qualified Immunity

Suggested Citation

Wasserman, Howard, Mixed Signals on Summary Judgment (August 8, 2014). Florida International University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 14-14, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2477915 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2477915

Howard Wasserman (Contact Author)

Florida International University (FIU) - College of Law ( email )

University Park, DB 2065
Miami, FL 33199
United States
305-348-7482 (Phone)

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