Does qualified immunity actually accomplish what the Supreme Court intended? Kim Norberg and co-host Keith Neely discuss qualified immunity and how it plays out in the real world. IJ Senior Attorney Bob McNamara and data scientist Jason Tiezzi join to discuss Unaccountable, IJ’s new report that examines qualified immunity by the numbers.The report uses the largest ever collection of federal appellate cases, covering the 11-year period from 2010 through 2020. It is also the first to use cutting-edge automated techniques to parse thousands of federal circuit court opinions and answer key questions about cases where government defendants claim qualified immunity—what kinds of officials and conduct it protects, its impact on civil rights cases, and whether the doctrine is achieving its aims.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a major win for free speech and police reform by awarding a Louisiana man $205,000 in compensatory and punitive damages for an unlawful 2020 raid.
Well, this is a bit of a doozy. This case — via the Institute for Justice — involves a possible First Amendment violation but somehow ends with a judicial blessing of cops who make things up after the fact to justify an arrest that has already taken place.
Joanna Schwartz on how law enforcement "became untouchable."Qualified immunity was first created by the Supreme Court in 1967. Qualified immunity is supposed to ensure that government employees have proper warning of what conduct violates the Constitution. But government officials can still receive qualified immunity even when they violate their own training. In effect, it assumes that police officers are reading case law in their spare time.Overcoming qualified immunity doesn't mean you've won your case; it gives you the right to take your claim to trial and ask a jury to determine if damages are deserved. Attorneys who work on such cases receive compensation on a contingency basis, which means they only get paid if they win, another factor that protects against frivolous suits clogging the courts.While the doctrine applies to state and local actors, federal cops receive an even more robust set of protections and are shielded by what essentially amounts to absolute immunity."It may be that people's rights are violated less frequently now than 10 or 20 years ago…. But it remains true also that our systems for holding police accountable in those circumstances in which they violate the law and people's rights really fails to offer justice to a meaningful percentage of those people," says Schwartz. "This is the moment to look at all the information and design a better future."
Cops in Nevada had better start behaving. The state’s Supreme Court has handed down a ruling that not only guarantees residents the right to sue under state law, but won’t allow officers to easily escape lawsuits by asking for qualified immunity.
The crimes are real, the cops are puppets, and the criminals are everywhere.
Fuzzy talks to his neighbor, Officer Dale.Do you have questions about law enforcement? Like, a lot of questions? Maybe for some reason you've recently been desperately searching for answers?Well Fuzzy and Officer Dale know a bunch of cool facts about police! Facts like:•Police officers have no legal obligation to protect you from imminent harm!•You can be too smart to be a police officer!•Cops aren't required to know the law even as they arrest people for breaking it!Fuzzy and his friend cover everything from overtime and pensions, to police training and qualified immunity! They even take time to talk about doggies!
