Section 1983 affords a judicial remedy to individuals who suffered deprivations of federal constitutional rights by state and local officials. And yet, in case after case, §1983 plaintiffs who were deprived of their constitutional rights walk away from the courthouse empty handed because the defendant official was protected by an absolute or qualified immunity.
Officials who carried out judicial, prosecutorial or legislative functions are shielded by an absolute immunity, while officials who carried out executive and administrative functions may assert qualified immunity. Although less potent than the absolute immunities, qualified immunity is a very formidable defense. It is the most frequently asserted immunity defense in §1983 actions and, in a high percentage of cases, protects the defendant official from liability. Law enforcement and other executive officers who acted unconstitutionally are shielded from liability so long as they did not violate clearly established federal law. In other words, “qualified immunity protects all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.”1
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