Qualified immunity is a type of legal immunity that protects government officials, including law enforcement officers, from lawsuits alleging that they violated a plaintiffs rights, only allowing suits where officials violated a “clearly established” statutory or constitutional right. It is a judge-created doctrine that shields public officials who perform discretionary functions from civil liability. Qualified immunity is not immunity from having to pay money damages, but rather immunity from having to go through the costs of a trial at all. Courts must resolve qualified immunity issues as early in a case as possible, preferably before discovery. Qualified immunity only applies to suits against government officials as individuals, not suits against the government for damages caused by the officials’ actions. Although qualified immunity frequently appears in cases involving police officers, it also applies to most other executive branch officials. While judges, prosecutors, legislators, and some other government officials do not receive qualified immunity, most are protected by other immunity doctrines. Debates about qualified immunity center around whether it strikes the right balance between holding public officials accountable when they exercise power irresponsibly and shielding officials from harassment, distraction, and liability when they perform their duties reasonably.