Dear Peter and list

This is a very important account for those of us outside the USA who may not (as I was not) have been aware of how the doctrine of qualified immunity has developed to the point where its level of protection of police is immense. It really does explain how police in the US (though it doesn’t explain sometimes similar behaviour of police in Australia) have felt immune when carrying out appalling behaviour against black people and indeed non-blacks as well.

 

It is also a very interesting example of the manipulation of the doctrine of precedent so that a law which was designed to protect X against Y turns into a law which actually protects Y against X.  This is not unknown in the doctrine of precedent ( another example is in the development of the doctrine of dependent relative revocation of wills)  but this is a particularly egregious example considering the clear purpose of the original rules.

 

Very much worth reading.

 

Cheers

Prue