Qualified Immunity in 2024-2025 (Presented by the Federal Bar Association Civil Rights Law Section)

Moderator: Kyle Kaiser, Senior Trial Counsel, Litigation Division | Utah Attorney General’s Office

Kyle Kaiser is an Assistant Attorney General and Senior Trial Counsel in the Litigation Division of the Utah Attorney General’s Office. He has been with the office since July 2011. Kyle’s practice focuses on defending claims of constitutional or civil rights violations brought against the State of Utah, its agents, agencies, and subdivisions, and Utah colleges and school districts.

Kyle is also appointed as a judge pro tempore for the Salt Lake City Justice Court, presiding over civil small claims matters. Before working for the Utah AG’s Office, Kyle was employed as Staff Attorney for Justice Dale Wainwright of the Supreme Court of Texas, where he not only assisted Justice Wainwright in researching and preparing opinions and analyzing petitions for review, but was in charge of the Court’s annual hot pepper eating competition.

Before that, Kyle was a litigation and intellectual property associate with the law firm of Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and served as a law clerk for Richard Dorr, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri, in Springfield.

Kyle received his J.D., with high distinction, from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2003, where he was Senior Managing Editor of the Iowa Law Review, was awarded the Hancher-Finkbine Medallion, and was inducted into Order of the Coif. Kyle received his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Drake University, summa cum laude, in 2000.

Away from work, Kyle enjoys spending time with his wife Pearl, their daughter Cora, and their cat Milo; camping around Utah in a 1983 Chevy RV; competing in pub trivia events (mostly virtually this year); playing percussion with the local community band and piano in the privacy of his own home; and judging mock trial competitions.

Nicole Johnston, Attorney Fellow, Litigation Division | Utah Attorney General’s Office

Nicole Johnston is an Attorney Fellow with the Utah Attorney General’s Office, Litigation Division. She received her J.D. and Public Interest Certificate from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law in 2023. While in law school, Nicole externed for Judge Daphne Oberg at the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah and served as Articles Editor of the Utah Law Review. Nicole currently serves on the Young Lawyer Division Board for the Utah State Bar and volunteers with the Utah Law Related Education Program.

I. Point of Departure | 2:00pm – 2:05pm

II. The history of and legal standards governing the doctrine of qualified immunity as articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court (Kyle Kaiser) | 2:05pm – 2:15pm

III. Application of qualified immunity through statistical analysis of published opinions by the Courts of Appeals from January 2024 through February 2025 – number of cases, disposition of appeals, types of cases, types of defendants, and other notable statistical trends (Nicole Johnston) | 2:15pm – 2:30pm

IV. Highlights of recent important and interesting cases throughout the Courts of Appeal applying or rejecting the doctrine of qualified immunity (Kyle Kaiser & Nicole Johnston) | 2:30pm – 2:50pm

V. A quick look at potential qualified immunity reforms on the horizon | 2:50pm – 2:55pm

VI. Questions and comments | 2:55pm – 3:00pm