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10 First Amend. L. Rev. 125 (2011-2012)
Pearson v. Callahan and Qualified Immunity: Impact on First Amendment Law

handle is hein.journals/falr10 and id is 127 raw text is: PEARSON v. CALLAHAN AND QUALIFIED IMMUNITY: IMPACT ON FIRST AMENDMENT LAW BY DAVID L. HUDSON, JR. INTRODUCTION At first glance, a search and seizure case involving informants, the consent-once-removed doctrine,' and other Fourth Amendment concepts would seemingly have little connection to freedom of expression.2 Commentators have noted, however, that, despite the case's scant media coverage,3 the United States Supreme Court's 2008 decision in Pearson v. Callahan4 has had a substantial impact on First Amendment litigation. The Court's decision in Pearson dealt with qualified immunity- a doctrine that enables government officials to avoid liability if they have not violated clearly established constitutional or statutory law.' The case . David L. Hudson, Jr. serves as a First Amendment Scholar for the First Amendment Center (http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org). He also teaches First Amendment classes at Vanderbilt Law School and the Nashville School of Law. 1. The consent-once-removed doctrine means that a suspect or defendant can give consent even though he does not directly give consent to the police. Under this theory, the suspect gives consent when he allows an individual, such as an informant, to enter his home. The consent given to the informant is then transmuted to the police. 2. David L. Hudson, Jr., 4th Amendment Ruling Could Influence First Amendment Law, FIRST AMENDMENT CENTER ONLINE (Jan. 27, 2009), http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/4th-amendment-ruling-could-influence-first- amendment-law. 3. Michelle Friedland et. al., A Shift in Constitutional Tort Jurisprudence, SAN FRANCISCO ATT'Y: SUPREME COURT WATCH (The Bar Ass'n of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA) (Summer, 2009), http://www.sfbar.org/forms/sfam/q22009/supreme court-watch q2_09.pdf. 4. 555 U.S. 223 (2009). 5. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818 (1982).

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