besides ofmanyuseful scenarios (not only very rare cases), it is as AutoCAD operates since decades ... we can not brake this, as users rely on exactly such behaviour (interactively & via programming APIs) I think "Selection" is an "Activation" of an Entity that implies that you want to...
If you have A2K (Autocad 2000) or above, inside the express toolbar, under layers, there is a command called layer delete that will delete any layer under any circumstances. After you have selected layer delete, enter "t" for type it >, then just enter the name of the laye...