History
The Doctrine of Qualified Immunity and Police Accountability
Quick fact
The U.S. Supreme Court first articulated the modern objective standard for qualified immunity in Harlow v. Fitzgerald (1982), but the doctrine has existed since 1871 when it was created to protect officials from liability under the Civil Rights Act. Today, critics argue it shields police from accountability even when constitutional rights are clearly violated.
Why this is interesting
Imagine a police officer uses excessive force, but a court throws out the lawsuit—not because the officer's actions were lawful, but because no previous court had already ruled on the exact same scenario. How can that be?