The Court strengthens the protection of qualified immunity, and sends a cautionary message to U.S. Courts of Appeal. (P.S. qualified immunity allows public officials and officers to avoid money damage liability when sued under Title 42 U.S. Code sec. 1983, the main federal civil rights statutes. Suits under the statute can also be brought in state courts.)
http://blogs.findlaw.com/supreme_court/2017/01/supreme-court-warns-circuits-on-qualified-immunity.html?DCMP=NWL-pro_top
This was a good decision by SCOTUS given the details of the case. Public servants whose actions are shown to be reasonable should not suffer civil liability.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. Unfortunately, Fourth Amendment reasonableness can be difficult to determine. The idea behind qualified immunity is to help public officials avoid the expense, time consumption and worry about a lawsuit and possibly paying damages; having to spend time in court away from their job; and, most importantly to prevent unnecessary deterrence to doing their job aggressively under the law. The third is the primary rationale. However, the standards are so general that they are difficult to administer.
ReplyDeleteThe Court needs to provide more guidance to lower courts.