I join the Court’s judgment and opinion. I write separately only to point out my agreement with Justice Stevens, ante, at 1, that Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U. S. 226 (1991), should not be read to deny lower courts the flexibility, in appropriate cases, to decide §1983 claims on the basis of qualified immunity, and thereby avoid wrestling with constitutional issues that are either difficult or poorly presented. See Siegert, supra, at 235 (Kennedy, J., concurring) (Lower court “adopted the altogether normal procedure of deciding the case before it on the ground that appeared to offer the most direct and appropriate resolution, and one argued by the parties”).