Mirabile Dictum! The Case for \u27Unnecessary\u27 Constitutional Rulings in Civil Rights Damages Actions

This article contends that, for purposes of settling the law, courts entertaining civil rights lawsuits doomed to fail on grounds of qualified immunity should presumably address the question whether the complaint pleads a viable claim that the defendant caused a violation of the plaintiff\u27s federal rights. The article also contends that such unnecessary threshold rulings are not dicta