The qualified immunity doctrine was first introduced by the US Supreme Court in 1967 (Pierson v. Ray). It is neither written into the US Constitution nor a law that has been passed by US Congress. Qualified immunity protects public officials, including law enforcement officers, from civil lawsuits. It places the burden of proof in such lawsuits on the plaintiff to show that the official being sued violated "clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known". This seems to provide public officials an exception to that other doctrine, "ignorance of the law excuses no one".

Qualified immunity is controversial. Congress has so far (as of June 25, 2020) declined to amend, revoke or affirm qualified immunity although the doctrine, as it currently stands, has been considered by both the Supreme Court and lawmakers for such actions.

The article linked below was used for reference.

Qualified Immunity: Both Sides of the Debate


BQ2020: 159