How to Use qualified immunity in a Sentence

qualified immunity

noun
  • Guerra was not protected by qualified immunity, the court said, and the case ought to proceed.
    — Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 5 Mar. 2024
  • An appeals court ruled a judge wrongly ruled the sergeant could claim qualified immunity without going to trial.
    — Ella Lee, The Hill, 10 Dec. 2025
  • We are told that if qualified immunity is limited or ended, police officers will be unable to do their jobs.
    — Dave Myers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
  • But qualified immunity may be built on an even shakier foundation than many of those critics previously thought.
    — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 23 Aug. 2023
  • Davis' role in the case has also been put on hold while her attorneys appeal a ruling that denied her motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity.
    — Lucas Finton, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 30 Mar. 2026
  • In response, the state claimed qualified immunity applies only in civil cases.
    — Dakin Andone, CNN, 31 May 2023
  • When Perez filed his suit, Fontana argued that the case should not go forward because the officers had qualified immunity.
    — Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2024
  • Courts have long maintained that officers who fire at slow-moving vehicles are not entitled to qualified immunity.
    — Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
  • Robinson refused to dismiss the suit and ruled Thompson was not entitled to qualified immunity.
    — Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 23 Dec. 2025
  • The report found that, contrary to popular belief, qualified immunity is about much more than police misconduct.
    — Andrew Wimer, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
  • In the appeal, attorneys argued that a moonlighting officer shouldn’t be able to claim qualified immunity.
    — CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Where qualified immunity does matter is after the incident.
    — Dave Myers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
  • When Santander sued, a judge dismissed the lawsuit, granting Salazar qualified immunity.
    — CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Some states have sought to restrict the application of qualified immunity as a defense in law enforcement cases, but Wisconsin is not one of them.
    — Daniel Bice, Journal Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2024
  • As its name suggests, qualified immunity is a partial shield for state and local officials against Section 1983 claims.
    — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 23 Aug. 2023
  • Limiting qualified immunity does not mean officers lose all protection.
    — Dave Myers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
  • In January, Iverson was denied qualified immunity by a federal judge for the shooting.
    — Escher Walcott, People.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Godbey initially ruled the officers were protected by qualified immunity, a legal shield that came under intense fire after Floyd’s death.
    — Kelli Smith, Dallas News, 17 July 2023
  • In Sosa’s pending case of a valid warrant enforced against the wrong person, the police officers are seeking protection from lawsuits based on the doctrine of qualified immunity.
    — WIRED, 14 Sep. 2023
  • Justices Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor have each criticized qualified immunity, but the court requires four votes to take up a case.
    — Cassidy Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 26 June 2024
  • Braun proposed a bill in 2020 to reform qualified immunity, which protects police officers from most lawsuits stemming from work performed in the line of duty.
    — Isabella Volmert, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2024
  • The phrase, seemingly deleted in error, undermines the basis for qualified immunity, the legal shield that protects police officers from suits for misconduct.
    — Adam Liptak, New York Times, 15 May 2023
  • Winmill also dismissed the excessive-force claims, writing that police officers are protected by qualified immunity.
    — Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 15 Dec. 2025
  • Some legal experts say the use of qualified immunity in these off-duty jobs, where officers are paid and directed by private businesses, distorts the original intent of the legal doctrine.
    — CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Progressives also have endorsed the reversal of qualified immunity protections, which shield agents from misconduct lawsuits.
    — Ana Ceballos, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
  • The appellate judges upheld qualified immunity for the false arrest and malicious prosecution claims but said excessive force allegations could move forward.
    — CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Overhauling qualified immunity, which can protect law enforcement from civil lawsuits, was an issue Democrats cared deeply about but was strongly opposed by the GOP.
    — Hunter Woodall, CBS News, 25 May 2024
  • The city and its police department seek qualified immunity in a lawsuit filed by the estate of Daniel Hernandez, who was shot six times and killed by an officer in 2020 while armed with a knife.
    — Ella Lee, The Hill, 25 Mar. 2026
  • The protections of qualified immunity persisted even when the officer’s police supervisors provided little oversight over off-duty work.
    — CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
  • An off-duty officer working security in Honolulu might not benefit from qualified immunity.
    — CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'qualified immunity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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