Supreme Court rejects cases challenging qualified immunity for police officers

The Supreme Court on Monday again turned away a slew of cases revisiting the controversial legal doctrine that shields law enforcement and government officials from being sued for actions taken in an official capacity. The Supreme Court has for weeks been weighing numerous cases involving qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that protects government officials from lawsuits stemming from conduct on the job unless they violate "clearly established" constitutional rights. But qualified immunity for police officers, in particular, has come under heightened scrutiny in recent years, as it makes it more difficult for victims to hold law enforcement accountable for use of excessive force. Civil rights groups, lawmakers and legal scholars have urged the Supreme Court to narrow the legal doctrine, warning it allows police to act with impunity. One of the cases the Supreme Court declined to review involved a Georgia police officer who shot a 10-year-old boy in the leg during pursuit of an unarmed suspect. The boy and five other children were playing outside when officers ordered them to lie on the ground as they pursued the suspect into their yard. One of the officers, Michael Vickers, fired twice at the family's pet dog, which was also in the yard, missing both times. But the second time he shot at the dog, he hit the young boy in the back of the knee. The boy's mom, Amy Corbitt, sued, and Vickers asserted qualified immunity. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Vickers, ruling he is entitled to qualified immunity...MORE