Malley v. Briggs

475 U.S. 335, 106 S. Ct. 1092, 89 L. Ed. 2d 271 (1986)

From our private database of 47,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Malley v. Briggs

United States Supreme Court
475 U.S. 335, 106 S. Ct. 1092, 89 L. Ed. 2d 271 (1986)

  • Written by Salina Kennedy, JD

Facts

Edward Malley (defendant) was a Rhode Island state trooper in charge of investigating Paul Driscoll. Pursuant to the investigation, Malley wiretapped Driscoll’s phone. The wiretap intercepted two conversations between Driscoll and a third party. Malley interpreted the conversations to indicate that Jimmy Briggs (plaintiff) was present at two parties where marijuana was smoked. Malley submitted a warrant request, accompanied by a supporting affidavit summarizing the two intercepted phone calls, to a state court judge. The judge issued the arrest warrant, and Briggs was arrested. A grand jury later declined to indict Briggs. Briggs then brought an action against Malley pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Malley’s warrant request had not been supported by probable cause and thus had violated Briggs’s Fourth Amendment rights. The district court entered a directed verdict for Malley, and the court of appeals reversed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (White, J.)

Concurrence/Dissent (Powell, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 965,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 965,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,500 briefs, keyed to 1,007 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
  • AI-generated podcast version of every brief — listen on the go, between classes, or whenever reading isn’t an option. New

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 965,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 47,500 briefs - keyed to 1,007 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Civil Rights

Key Terms

  • Qualified ImmunityA doctrine that shields officials from lawsuits related to actions taken while in office that do not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights.
  • 42 U.S.C. § 1983Federal law that allows individuals to sue state officials for violating their constitutional rights while acting under “color” of state law.

Understand your casebook readings in seconds

Use our case briefs to comprehend your casebook readings faster, supplement your notes and outlines, and outshine your peers in class.

Get instant access to over 47,500+ expert-written case briefs in a searchable database keyed to 1,007 law school casebooks.

Case book preview
Start your free 7-day trial