What Is Qualified Immunity And How Might Lawmakers Change It?

Qualified immunity protects government officials, including police officers, from civil rights lawsuits if the violation was not clearly established.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are trying to negotiate a bipartisan bill to reform federal policing laws, and qualified immunity is a key sticking point.  Qualified immunity protects government officials, including police officers, from lawsuits. It means you can only sue if the violation of your rights has already been "clearly established." "It requires civil rights plaintiffs to show not just that their rights were violated, but they also have to find a prior judicial decision in their jurisdiction, where someone else's rights were violated in nearly the same way," said Jay Schweikert, a research fellow at the Cato Institute's Project on Criminal Justice.