Publication Date
2021
Volume
99
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Critics have called qualified immunity an “unqualified disgrace,” an “abomination,” and “a scourge that closes courthouse doors to people whose constitutional rights have been violated.” One particularly troubling aspect of qualified immunity is what I’ll call comparative qualified immunity: the ability of a government official to avoid liability by claiming that his behavior wasn’t that much worse than conduct by a prior official that was deemed constitutional. In November 2020, the Supreme Court seemingly created a narrow exception to comparative qualified immunity in cases involving “particularly egregious facts.” In February 2021, however, the Supreme Court signaled that this was no mere narrow exception; instead, it was likely the end of comparative qualified immunity.
Recommended Citation
Colin Miller, The End of Comparative Qualified Immunity, 99 TEX. L. REV. ONLINE 217 (2021).
Comments
© Texas Law Review
Originally published in 2021 by Texas Law Review in online volume 99 and archived here with their permission.