Fifth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Cops' Fourth Amendment Violation

It's beyond debate that officers cannot pull someone over without reasonable suspicion and then invent a bogus reason for the stop afterwards, says the Fifth Circuit. So this case about Alexandria, La. officers who said a motorist failed to signal despite dashcam footage showing otherwise (and who then unlawfully prolonged the stop) will proceed past the pleading stages (nearly four years and over 200 docket entries after it was filed). No qualified immunity.

The case is Rosales v. Lewis et. al., 25-30650 (5th Cir. Sept. 22, 2026).