The courts
qualified immunity
A defense shielding government officials from damages suits unless they violated clearly established law. Central to litigation over police conduct.
In full
The doctrine protects officials from personal liability where no prior case put the specific conduct beyond debate, on the theory that they should not be punished for guessing wrong about unsettled law. Critics argue the clearly established requirement is applied so narrowly that novel misconduct is automatically immune, and that it blocks the development of the very precedent it demands.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.