Ortiz v. Jordan (09-737)
argument 09-737Ortiz v. Jordan
Supreme Court of the United States
1h 0m
5 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 4 days ago
official recording ↗
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What is the central dispute over reviewing a denied summary‑judgment motion in Ortiz v. Jordan?
We'll hear argument first this morning in case zero nine seven thirty seven Ortiz versus Jordan. Mr Mills.
Mr Chief Justice, and may it please the Court. Denial of summary judgment is not reviewable on appeal after trial. Еспешли Where the decision depends on whether the evidence on the merits of the claim is sufficient to cross the legal line for liability.
Well that's I'm sorry to interrupt so qu quickly, but that especially take it I take it as a concession that there's a difference between claims for qualified immunity based on evidence and claims that are based on law.
Well, there's a difference between defences that depend on the evidence at trial. What I would say about qualified immunity is that to the extent any Court of Appeals is going to enter judgment based on qualified immunity, it needs to understand the conduct of the officials in the case. And so You're always talking about Well of course there's always a uh there are always facts, they're they're often disputed facts. But suppose the issue is whether or not this right And maybe there were two two rights here. This right was clearly established. That's an that's an issue of law. That is that is an issue of law, Your Honor. And doesn't that fall within the except clause that the Chief Justice was talking to you about, which you haven't had much time to fill out, I understand.
But um Well i i if if you're going to say and it's it's really not whether the summary judgment is a is appealable. That's that's a little bit missing. It's it's whether or not the issues resolved by the summary judgment. Motion or repeatable. Right. read into your response or implied from your response what the Chief Justice did but maybe sometimes. The summary judgment motion say on an issue of law, is sufficient to preserve the issue. Well and and that gets to what I think is the heart of the the split in the circuits and the confusion. is that every circuit recognises a very general rule that where the evidence at trial moots that as summary judgment. We're not going to review the summary judgment decision.
Now a number of courts said Well wait a second. There are summary judgment issues that don't depend on the evidence, and we're those are typically called questions of law. And respondents point to a number of good examples in their brief of defenses such as statute of limitations, preemption and the like that indeed very often don't depend at all on the evidence at trial. The difference with qualified immunity is that qualified immunity requires the court to look at the evidence of the claim itself. Now statute limitations, for example, is actually quite different. Because In statute of limitations, let's suppose Michelle Ortiz filed her suit twenty years late. it would not matter at all how much evidence she adduced of the pl of the respondents' misconduct.
It would be barred by statute limitations. So Mr. Mills, what what then is the difference? You you point out quite rightly summary judgment looks to what evidence there was, and the question for the court is What could the plaintiff prove? When we get past trial. the issue becomes what has The plaintiff proved. So what was brought out at trial What was the record at trial? That was larger than the record at summary judgment because if the if there was no no new fact presentation, no more ample fact presentation. then it i it wouldn't matter, b we would be the same body of evidence, right? Well I think that's largely largely right, Justice Kinsburg, and and here's an example of what did change in this case.
at the summary judgment stage. What we had were affidavits of the respondents discussing their role in relation to this case. with no comment whatsoever about what the consequences would have been Had Miss Jordan immediately reported the first sexual assault? The record was bare in summary judgment from respondents' perspective on that on that point. At trial Under cross examination Miss Bright. testified that Respondent Jordan indeed violated prison policy by not reporting it and then very crucially also agreed
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the central dispute over reviewing a denied summary‑judgment motion in Ortiz v. Jordan?
0:01–7:05
2
How do the parties distinguish qualified‑immunity claims that depend on trial evidence from those that are pure questions of law?
7:05–14:41
3
Why does the Sixth Circuit’s handling of the summary‑judgment record raise jurisdiction and “power” concerns?
14:41–21:47
4
What is the significance of Rule 50 A and Rule 50 B motions and the argument about forfeiture in this case?
21:47–29:12
5
How does the Seventh Amendment’s “except” clause factor into the Court’s analysis of qualified‑immunity appeals?
29:12–37:03
6
In what ways does the trial record—especially the testimony of Ms. Bright—affect the qualified‑immunity inquiry?
37:03–45:19
7
What are the arguments for and against requiring a collateral‑order appeal to preserve a qualified‑immunity issue?
45:19–53:30
8
What conclusion does the Court reach regarding the proper rule for reviewing summary‑judgment decisions after trial?
53:30–1:00:57