Contrariwise, a case that the Court should hear involves a harmful legal doctrine that it simply made up, namely “qualified immunity.”Here’s the background. It was supposed to deter bad actors who violate the rights of people in the course of their duties. 1983 cases, the Court rejected the argument that there was or should be a “good faith” defense for officials, instead applying the statute exactly as written. In the 1960s, however, the Court began to read “qualified immunity” into the law. That crack in the dike has led to the situation today where, Baude says, we have virtually unqualified immunity, meaning that suits against government officials almost never succeed.

Source: Forbes March 21, 2018 13:52 UTC