Qualified Immunity Doctrine Shields Officers as Courts Reject Accountability

Qualified immunity, a judicially created doctrine protecting government officials from civil rights suits unless they violated 'clearly established law,' continued to shield police officers from accountability. Studies showed courts granted qualified immunity in over 50% of cases. The doctrine was invented by the Supreme Court in Pierson v. Ray (1967) and expanded in Harlow v. Fitzgerald (1982) without basis in the text of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote separately in 2020 calling for the doctrine to be reconsidered. Congress blocked legislative fixes; the Supreme Court refused cert on multiple cases seeking to reconsider the doctrine.