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A police detective allegedly cost an innocent man almost two years of his life by using a nearly-incomprehensible statement from someone in jail. The man sued, and the detective is now arguing she is entitled to qualified immunity.
Qualified immunity is a mess. It's a mess the Supreme Court created and, to date, seems largely unwilling to fix (despite the occasional remand). The theory of QI is this: law enforcement officers (and other government employees) should be granted forgiveness for blowing constitutional calls during rapidly evolving situations potentially involving life and death. And…
"Qualified immunity has become an extremely controversial legal issue because it creates this defense out of whole cloth," a legal expert told Newsweek.