The Ninth Circuit also determined that while the Chief of the Department was shielded by qualified immunity, the City and the Department itself are not shielded by statutory immunity.
The AER argues that the purpose of the immunity clause "is not to immunize the government from scrutiny for unconstitutional laws or acts, but to promote good governance by shielding a statutory tribunal with purely public duties from being called to account to any particular individual in a claim for private remedies".
But in the new decision, the Fifth Circuit held that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to historical cell-site information; statutory protections are their only shield.
There's one other benefit to using the MLC: you're shielded from liability for statutory damages.
This is the same country that, for decades, helped shield Roman Polanski from being prosecuted for statutory rape in the United States.
Although I join in the opinion of the Court, I believe that, independently of any statutory refuge which Congress may choose to provide, the Fourth Amendment shields a grand jury witness from any question (or any subpoena) which is based upon information garnered from searches which invade his own constitutionally protected privacy.
Leon agrees that Congress, "for better or worse," intended for only phone companies to bring statutory challenges he also cites the milk decision but argues that secrecy itself should not be a shield, certainly not against constitutional challenges.
Qualified immunity shields government officials from civil damages liability unless the official violated a statutory or constitutional right that was clearly established at the time of the challenged conduct.
Norway has specific legislation on the protection of whistleblowers, while neighbouring Sweden does not define whistleblowing in law, but has statutory provisions – such as the constitution, the trade secrets act and the employment protection act – that shield individual informers.
Although no court has ruled on the matter, the Olson OLC Opinion stated OLC's belief that the president's assertion of executive privilege presents a complete constitutional shield against Congress's exercise of its inherent contempt power as well as its statutory contempt power.
