The End of Qualified Immunity

We all saw the questioning of “qualified immunity” during the summer of 2020 after the killing of George Floyd, and multiple seemingly unjustified shootings by police officers.

I have always argued for “fairness,” “consistency” and “lack of hypocrisy” in our “democratic” country, and while the idea of “qualified immunity” SHOULD be revisited for police “doing their job” while on the street and in uniform, that same revisitation of “qualified immunity” should also be revisited for all levels of society.

For a long time, executives in private corporations have not had to answer for their actions, because of a presumption, that they were acting FOR the corporation, and therefore, any action, that had a detriment to the corporation, should be accountable, BY the corporation. That is “qualified immunity.” For the individual executive. Not for the corporation.

That same presumption holds for elected officials, administrators and actors in government OFF the street. Their legislation, their actions, have been protected by “qualified immunity” which protects them from accountability.

However, in all fairness, I believe that EVERY individual, in a world that believes in “individual rights,” needs to have SOME accountability. They can argue or opine or act or legislate with some degree of “presumption of service” to society, the individual, or a specific corporate interest (that also is responsible IN society, TO society, as a corporate member of society).

And this hold for judicial decisions as well.

We cannot hold individuals responsible for their petty, self-serving interests, but when they attain some rank (which is accompanied by “responsibility” greater than themselves), they are automatically “immune” from responsibility. In fact, their level of responsibility needs to be greater — because they applied, and were appointed to the position of responsibility BECAUSE they made an individual CHOICE to ask for, and accept that responsibility.

This is exactly why the Free Press is Constitutionally protected. That public figures are open to scrutiny, as opposed to PRIVATE citizens. They made the CHOICE to go in that direction. To be under scrutiny, to be responsible for their positions and actions, and to have to answer for those positions and actions.

ALL people of responsibility need to have LIMITED qualified immunity to do their jobs, but they also need to be able to justify their positions and actions as it pertains to OTHER individuals and society as a whole.

To live in a democratic and fair society. A society and country of Equality. “Qualified” immunity needs to be “qualified.” Have limits. Texas legislators, writing laws, should be open to lawsuits or investigations questioning their service to the society at large, or to the rights of individuals. And the same goes for Supreme Court justices.

End the farce of “Absolute Immunity” and replace it with “Qualified Immunity.” Public figures, elected officials need to be able to defend their decisions and choices and votes — not simply at the ballot box, but with actual implications to their own lives. Just as they are impacting the lives of others.