zlacker

>>mnm1+(OP)
Just so we know what we're talking about, here is a description of the 13 Qualified Immunity cases that may get to the Supreme Court soon.

https://www.cato.org/blog/may-15th-supreme-court-will-finall...

Sample:

Jessop v. City of Fresno. In this case, the Ninth Circuit granted immunity to police officers who stole over $225,000 in cash and rare coins in the course of executing a search warrant. The court noted that while “the theft [of] personal property by police officers sworn to uphold the law” may be “morally wrong,” the officers could not be sued for the theft because the Ninth Circuit had never issued a decision specifically involving the question of “whether the theft of property covered by the terms of a search warrant, and seized pursuant to that warrant, violates the Fourth Amendment.”

>>Burnin+2v
If Congress is considering legislation to change QI then the Supreme Court has little reason to take up these cases. SCOTUS should stay silent when the legislative branch is at work to correct something that was a judicial creation or when it looks like Congress intends to legislate in an issue.

Edit: I will just reply to all of the comments downthread at once because they all seem to urge the same thing. SCOTUS has no incentive to act when the legislative branch is doing something that could easily overturn or not align with their decision, which would render their decision moot. A law that Congress passes overrules any and all SCOTUS precedent on the issue because Congress "legislates against the backdrop of the common law." Further, Congress has the ability to move much faster than SCOTUS: a bill could be passed on less than a month in Congress while it will take at least a year for SCOTUS to reach a decision.

>>abduhl+5w
> If Congress is considering legislation to change QI

There already is legislation making government officials liable for violating someone's Constitutional or legal rights. 42 USC 1983 is pretty clear:

"Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured..."

So I don't see why the court had to make up this whole "qualified immunity" thing in the first place. Just judge the question: did the government official violate the person's Constitutional or legal rights? If they did, they're liable.