Lafferrandre, Hendrickson, and Nester file brief on behalf of National Police Association

In March 2025, Pierce Couch partners Robert Lafferrandre and Jeffrey Hendrickson, with assistance from associate Riley Nester, filed a certiorari-stage amicus curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the National Police Association (NPA) supporting Officer Christopher Schurr in his appeal, Christopher Schurr v. Patrick Lyoya,  Supreme Court Appeal No. 24-886. Officer Schurr seeks review of an order from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denying him qualified immunity in part because the Sixth Circuit, and the District Court before it, failed to undertake a serious evaluation of the evidence Officer Schurr presented to them at the appellate and trial stages. In its brief, the National Police Association writes in support of Officer Schurr’s case by pointing out how the lower courts’ failure to fully consider Officer Schurr’s evidence is a symptom of a problem that has plagued the federal courts since the Supreme Court decided Pearson v. Callahan in 2009.

Before Pearson, courts had to rule on qualified immunity claims by analyzing them in a particular order. First, courts had to decide whether there was evidence of a constitutional violation at all. Then, and only if so, courts had to determine whether the violation was “clearly established” in legal precedent such that an officer could be liable. In Pearson, the Supreme Court said that courts no longer had to follow this order—they could decide one question, or the other, or both, but nothing mandated the order or content of their review. As a result, many courts—understandably due to the relative scarcity of judicial resources—began skipping the question of whether a constitutional violation had occurred at all and went straight to whether a presumed violation was clearly established. To the detriment of citizens and law enforcement, Pearson ended up depriving the public of nearly 15 years of judicial opinions setting out when the Constitutional was violated and when it was not. The NPA advocates for a return to pre-Pearson days so as to help its members better understand the nuances of what is permissible under the Constitution. This should, over time, lead to better, more rigorous policing; higher safeguards on constitutional rights; and better positioning for officers defending against civil-rights claims.   

This is Robert and Jeffrey’s eighth amicus curiae filing with the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case is Christopher Schurr v. Patrick Lyoya, Supreme Court Appeal No. 24-886, and the brief can be found here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-886/352650/20250320175058896_NpaSchurr_Amicus%20Document%20March%2020%202025%20EFile.pdf