The following excerpt is from Washington v. Lambert, 98 F.3d 1181 (9th Cir. 1996):
The first question is whether the right at issue is clearly established and stated with particularity. Alexander, 64 F.3d at 1319. "The contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right." Id. (quoting Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 3039, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987)). The second question is whether the official could have had a reasonable belief that his conduct was lawful. If not, he is not entitled to qualified immunity. Act Up!/Portland, 988 F.2d at 873. We answer the second question by determining whether "a reasonable officer" could have had the belief in question, not whether the individual officer involved actually thought his conduct was lawful. Id.
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