What's Qualified Immunity?

In short,

Qualified immunity is a policy that shields police officers from punishment for misconduct.

Context

In 1871, the Supreme Court passed the Civil Rights Act which gave citizens the right to hold public officials accountable for misconduct. The Supreme Court invented qualified immunity in 1967, describing it as a modest exception for public officials who had acted in “good faith” and believed that their conduct was authorized by law

The Supreme Court has expanded that policy drastically since then, covering all but "the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law." They added that anyone claiming that their rights were abused by a police officer must be able to show that the officer violated “clearly established” law. In practice, “clearly established” means it was recognized by a previous court ruling.

So even if...

...an officer’s action does violate someone’s constitutional rights, that officer can escape punishment if a court hasn’t already ruled that his or her exact action was unconstitutional.

Confusing? Nonsensical?

That's qualified immunity in a nutshell. What we described is the specific loophole that convicted officials can use to justify them breaking the law.

How has this benefited cops in the past?

1. Jessop v. City of Fresno, which involved a trio of California police officers who attempted to steal $225,000 worth of property while raiding someone’s home with a warrant, resulted in a federal appellate where the court sided with the officers. Although the court sympathized with the defendants and found the officers’ conduct “deeply disturbing,” the cops were not found liable because no other court had previously settled the question of whether police officers “violate the Fourth or Fourteenth Amendment when they steal property that is seized pursuant to a warrant.”

2. Another 2014 case involved a Nebraska police officer who body-slammed a 5-foot woman to the ground, fracturing her collarbone, after she walked away from him and toward her child, who was engaged in a heated conversation. A court ruled against her.

3. In 2012, a Florida officer failed to identify himself when bursting into the home of an innocent man, Andrew Scott, before shooting and killing Scott for no legitimate reason. The officer was granted qualified immunity.

What can we do about it?

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which just passed in the House, ends qualified immunity and takes important steps toward ending police brutality and increasing transparency and accountability. If you want to transform policing in America, stand with us and show your support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act today.

The link below will take the visitor to a form that will automatically send a set email to your state governors, outlining a petition for reform regarding qualified immunity.