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Congress Is Going to Have to Repeal Qualified Immunity
Advocates had hoped that the Supreme Court would step in, but that’s not going to happen.
Updated at 10:35 a.m. ET on June 17, 2020.
The qualified-immunity doctrine—under which government officials can’t be sued for violating constitutional rights unless their actions transgress “clearly established” law—has gone from legal arcanum to popular talking point following the killing of George Floyd and the protests that have erupted nationwide in reaction. On Monday, however, the Supreme Court announced that it would decline to hear any of the cases pending before it on this subject, leaving the fate of qualified immunity to Congress. This ought to be a bipartisan cause—in fact, -partisan, as the proposed Ending Qualified Immunity Act is sponsored by not just a long list of liberal
