Constitutional amendment; qualified immunity for government officials (first reference).

Constitutional amendment (first reference);qualified immunity for government officials. Establishes theright of government officials to qualified immunity. The amendmentprovides that a government official may not be found liable for thedeprivation of any person's rights, privileges, or immunities securedby the Constitution of Virginia and the laws of Virginia if such official establishes that (i) the right, privilege, or immunity alleged tobe violated was not clearly established at the time of the person's deprivation by the official, or that at such time, the state of thelaw was not sufficiently clear that every reasonable official wouldhave understood that the conduct alleged constituted a violationof the Constitution or the laws of Virginia or (ii) a court of competentjurisdiction had issued a final decision on the merits holding thatthe specific conduct alleged to be unlawful was consistent with the Constitution and the laws of Virginia.