You can thank a single, unnamed, person in 1874 for that. Congress passed section 1983 of the Federal Code in 1871. They included a 16 word clause that the person entrusted to copy the Congressional Record into the Federal Register illegally omitted. This clause became the focal point of Harlow V Fitzgerald in 1982. Because the 1982 SCOTUS didn’t bother checking the Congressional Record, because why would they, the entire argument that allowed Qualified Immunity revolves around the missing clause. Had they had they original text, they wouldn’t have ruled the way they did.
You can thank a single, unnamed, person in 1874 for that. Congress passed section 1983 of the Federal Code in 1871. They included a 16 word clause that the person entrusted to copy the Congressional Record into the Federal Register illegally omitted. This clause became the focal point of Harlow V Fitzgerald in 1982. Because the 1982 SCOTUS didn’t bother checking the Congressional Record, because why would they, the entire argument that allowed Qualified Immunity revolves around the missing clause. Had they had they original text, they wouldn’t have ruled the way they did.
Got more details on this missing clause? I’d like to learn more.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/15/us/politics/qualified-immunity-supreme-court.html