![]() ![]() Rogue officers can still face criminal prosecution or internal discipline, but that does nothing to provide a remedy to those who experience government misconduct. Police groups celebrated the decision, which cuts off the only path to justice available to civil rights victims. In June 2022 the Supreme Court all but ruled that federal officials can never be sued for violating the Constitution. Instead of reining in government immunity, they continue to solidify and expand it. Our public interest law firm, the Institute for Justice, represented Byrd when he petitioned the U.S. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent even dodged civil penalties after he attempted to shoot and kill Kevin Byrd, a Texas man who asked questions about a drunk-driving incident involving the agent’s son. They receive near-absolute immunity, no matter how outrageous their behavior. The perks for federal officers are even greater. “Either immunity is necessary for government officials to do their jobs, as police groups argue, or immunity undermines the rule of law-which requires one set of rules for everyone.” Who wouldn’t want to avoid consequences for workplace wrongdoings and willful incompetence? One police department in New Hampshire even advertised qualified immunity as a job perk for new recruits in 2021. ![]() The International Association of Chiefs of Police agrees. “Without it, the orderly administration of justice would come to a halt amidst paralyzing fear of liability,” the group asserts in a 2020 letter to Congress. The National Association of Police Organizations says qualified immunity is essential for officers to do their jobs. The irony of this case is that law enforcement officers like Burk normally love qualified immunity. Supreme Court invented in 1982, shields government employees from accountability for unreasonable actions-unless victims can point to a prior case in the same jurisdiction that clearly establishes the behavior as unconstitutional. ![]() Predictably, Burk now finds himself on the wrong end of a judge-made doctrine called “qualified immunity.”
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