Whether federal appellate courts have jurisdiction to review routine discovery orders under the collateral order doctrine

QUESTION PRESENTED When a district court denies a government official’s qualified immunity defense on a motion to dismiss, that official may seek immediate review of that decision under the collateral order doctrine, a narrow, judicially created exception to the final judgment rule. 28 U.S.C. § 1291; Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530 (1985); Behrens v. Pelletier, 516 U.S. 299, 307 (1996). Discovery orders, by contrast, are not generally appealable until final judgment. In the decision below, the court of appeals authorized interlocutory appellate review of a routine discovery order because the defendant asserted qualified immunity. The question presented is whether the courts of appeals have jurisdiction to review routine discovery orders on an interlocutory basis in qualified immunity cases.