That is a really good point- what do they need “qualified immunity” for at all- if they just do their jobs, and don’t commit any illegal acts.
exactly, Mr K
“what do they need “qualified immunity” for at all- if they just do their jobs, and don’t commit any illegal acts”
The idea is that, without immunity, they could be sued by just about anyone, and as government officials tend to not be able to satisfy every “customer”, this would make it impossible for them to do their jobs, and furthermore make it impossible to find anyone masochistic enough to want to work for the government.
It sounds good in theory if the immunity is removed when they misbehave and break the law. But in reality, you have to go to another government stooge to convince them to remove the immunity, and government stooges tend to stick together. So “qualified immunity” becomes nearly indistinguishable from “unqualified immunity”.