Steve a. Filarsky, Petitioner v. Nicholas B. Delia.
Decided April 17, 2012. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 10-1018 · 566 U.S. 377 (2012) · Cited 597 times
Holding
A private individual temporarily retained by the government to carry out its work is entitled to seek qualified immunity from suit under § 1983.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 9–0.
Majority · 7
- John Glover Roberts Jr. · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Antonin Scalia
- Clarence Thomas
- Elena Kagan
- Samuel A. Alito Jr.
- Stephen Gerald Breyer
Concurring · 2
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg · filed a concurring opinion
- Sonia Sotomayor · filed a concurring opinion
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Richardson v. McKnight · 521 U.S. 399 (1997)
- Wyatt v. Cole · 504 U.S. 158 (1992)
- Imbler v. Pachtman · 424 U.S. 409 (1976)
- Anderson v. Creighton · 483 U.S. 635 (1987)
- Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co. · 457 U.S. 922 (1982)
- Pulliam v. Allen · 466 U.S. 522 (1984)
- Harlow v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 800 (1982)
- Pearson v. Callahan · 555 U.S. 223 (2009)
- Scheuer v. Rhodes · 416 U.S. 232 (1974)
- Bradley v. Fisher · 80 U.S. 335 (1872)
- Tenney v. Brandhove · 341 U.S. 367 (1951)
- United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
- Oklahoma Press Publishing Co. v. Walling · 327 U.S. 186 (1946)
- Procunier v. Navarette · 434 U.S. 555 (1978)
- Gardner v. Broderick · 392 U.S. 273 (1968)
- Tower v. Glover · 467 U.S. 914 (1984)
- Uniformed Sanitation Men Ass'n v. Commissioner of Sanitation of New York · 392 U.S. 280 (1968)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez · 577 U.S. 153 (2016)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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John Glover Roberts Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2012). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).