A federal appellate court is denying Butler County’s president judge on two of his three claims of qualified immunity.
The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third District affirmed most of the decision from a lower court in the case of Crystal Starnes—a former county employee—against President Judge Tom Doerr.
In the opinion, the appeals court denied Doerr’s qualified immunity case regarding the 14th amendment, and the first amendment retaliation claim, but did allow it regarding a first amendment association claim.
Starnes originally sued Doerr back in 2018 alleging sexual misconduct and harassment.
Qualified immunity grants government officials performing discretionary functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known”.
