Richard Schroeter v. Joan Kedra, Individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of David Kedra

A Pennsylvania State Police firearms instructor was demonstrating a new handgun’s “trigger reset” mechanism in a training class. Though well aware of standard gun safety rules and precautions, he did not have actual knowledge there was a bullet in the weapon at that time. He therefore pulled the trigger to explain the reset function, the gun discharged, and a Trooper in the class suffered a fatal wound. The questions presented are:

1. May a state actor’s recklessness or gross negligence form the basis for a constitutional violation under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Substantive Due Process Clause, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, when there was no intent to cause the harm that resulted?

2. If a state actor who acts with recklessness or gross negligence—but who lacks actual knowledge of the risk—can be held liable for a constitutional violation under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Substantive Due Process Clause, is he entitled to qualified immunity since the right was not clearly established in the law at the time the act causing the harm occurred?