Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that protects government officials (politicians and police officers) from civil lawsuits when they perform their duties, unless they clearly violated a constitutional right. It applies to state and local officials, including law enforcement, teachers, and social workers.
While it sounds very common sense, when the entire justice system is comprised of police officers who know judges and politicians that know both, the majority of behavior that would violate qualified immunity is ignored as these people are lenient with each other or look the other way.
These are the same people who tell the average citizen that they won’t face criminal charges if they just “Obey the law.” yet the same does not hold true for them as the people in the positions with the authority to hold government officials accountable look the other way.
The only solution is to end Qualified Immunity. After all, if the average citizen is told to “Obey the law” if they don’t want to be prosecuted for crimes, shouldn’t the same hold true for government officials and police officers? “Obey the law” and you won’t lose your employment or go to jail.
Not to mention that Qualified Immunity is a violation of the 14th Amendment. Bestowing government officials and police to with immunity to crimes which average citizens would be convicted for, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
With the authority implicit in government positions, these people should be held to HIGHER standards not lower, and certainly not given immunity from prosecution of criminal activity or violations of the Constitution. What then holds them accountable and encourages them to make wise and lawful decisions?