Qualified Immunity Makes Ignorance Blissful.A police officer who violates a citizen's Constitutional rights may nonetheless be immune from suit unless that Constitutional right was "clearly established," where clearly established means that a reasonable state actor would have known of the law. Qualified immunity protects all but the dumbest and the meanest. In other words, the police are not liable unless the act they are taking is pretty shady. So shady that they out to know something is wrong with their conduct.

Would this not make a great model for ALL laws? We all can agree that some things are ALWAYS wrong, e.g., murder, exploiting minors, & etc. Or at least all SANE people can agree that those things are always wrong. (See NAMBL, a perverted organization that condones conduct too disguisting to place here. Or see the Americal Psychological Association, which has argued that such relationships are good "mentoring.")

But conduct taken in ignorance of other laws that proscribe conduct not so clearly wrong is no defense to criminal or civil liability. We must obey even stupid laws, or else face a lawsuit or prosecution.

I do not buy into the argument that, well, they have a tough job and have a lot of discretionary functions to perform. And so, we should not restrain their discretion. Nor am I afraid that a police officer would be compelled to study Con Law if he were not granted qualified immunity. Anyone who has ever been pulled over is confident that police officers are quite adept at memorizing and reciting law.

We the People also have many discretionary functions to perform. Everything from water-pressure to the rise and run of stairs are covered under some federal law, euphemistically called "regulations". Imagine being an employer who has to fire an employee. That employer has to decide whether this will subject himself to liability; whether it will "prove" him a racist or sexist if he fires someone in a protected class, & etc. No immunity from civil liability for him. No immunity for Mrs. Atwater, a soccer mom who was arrested (yes, cuffed and stuffed) for not wearing her safety belt. (See Mugged by the State for more examples of government misconduct).

I propose that citizens ignorant of ignorant laws should be both criminally and civilly immune from suit. This new defense will not work for murderers, perverts, & etc., but it might be enough to stave off the EEOC.