Irby Alexander, et al. v. Gary Orlowski, et al.

The Seventh Circuit denied qualified immunity to two county jail officers on a claim that they failed to seek immediate medical attention for an inmate who displayed signs of sleep apnea but, as a matter of fact (unknown to them), had overdosed on illicitly obtained drugs. In determining whether the constitutional right in question was “clearly established,” the court of appeals thought it sufficient that the Eighth Amendment has been held to proscribe deliberate indifference to a serious medical need. This case, one of a series from that court, presents the following question: Whether the court of appeals defined the constitutional right in question at too high a level of generality, directly contrary to this Court’s teachings on qualified immunity? (i)