The Supreme Court will have a chance to stop at least one common abuse of qualified immunity

Law enforcement officers sometimes make split-second decisions that turn out wrong. But in the case of Sylvia Gonzalez, a mayor, police chief and special detective spent weeks considering ways to retaliate against her, a retiree who promised change when she ran for city council in Castle Hills, Texas.

After Gonzalez was elected, she faced deliberate, coordinated, prolonged efforts to silence her. She even spent a day in jail on bogus allegations.

But when Gonzalez sued her persecutors for violating her First Amendment right to criticize them, the 5th U.S. Circuit...