The doctrine of qualified immunity is best known—and most notorious—for protecting police officers from being held liable even for many very egregious violations of citizens' rights. The issue came to public consciousness in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police officers in 2020. But qualified immunity also protects a wide range of other government officials. In Sterling Hotels v. McKay, a recent ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, qualified immunity enabled a state elevator inspector to avoid Takings Clause liability for shutting down a hotel elevator for reasons not authorized by state law, as understood by the state's Elevator Safety Board. Here is an excerpt from the court's summary of the facts.
