Petitioner Ralph Benning, who is a Georgia inmate, tried to send emails concerning gang problems, fraud, corruption, and access to kosher meals within the prison system. The Georgia Department of Corrections intercepted the emails and never delivered them. It did not tell Mr. Benning that the emails were intercepted, nor give him an opportunity to appeal.

Mr. Benning sued under Section 1983, claiming that the Department violated the First Amendment. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The Eleventh Circuit held that the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity on this claim.

Cato filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to reverse that decision and abolish qualified immunity. Neither Section 1983’s text nor the early history of constitutional torts justifies qualified immunity. In fact, courts have wrongly overlooked the fact that Section 1983—as originally enacted by Congress—forecloses qualified immunity. What is more, qualified immunity undermines public confidence in officials, including law enforcement and the courts, and is based on faulty assumptions about how official liability actually works. The mere fact that Congress has not done away with qualified immunity is no reason for the Court to maintain it as a bar to relief for Americans whose rights are violated. The Supreme Court should do away it.