About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (June 10, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govddzw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Resarh Service Policing the Police: Qualified Immunity and Considerations for Congress June 10, 2020 In the wake of unrest arising from George Floyd's death on May 25, 2020, after a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck, broader questions have arisen with regard to how existing law regulates the conduct of local police officers. While these issues are explored more broadly in these separate Sidebars, one particular issue of recent judicial and legislative focus has been the doctrine of qualified immunity. Qualified immunity is a judicially created doctrine shielding public officials who are performing discretionary functions from civil liability. The doctrine plays a particularly prominent role in defense of civil rights lawsuits against federal law enforcement officials under the Bivens doctrine and against state and local police under 42 U. SC. § 1983 (Section 1983). With regard to its role in civil law suits conc erning violations of constitutional norms regulating the polic e, defenders of the doctrine have suggested that qualified immunity plays an important role in affording police officers some level of deference when making split-second decisions about whether to, for example, use force to subdue a fleeing or resisting suspect. Critics of the doctrine have questioned its legal origins and have argued that its practice has provided too much deference to the police at the expense of accountability and the erosion of criminal suspects' constitutional rights. With increasing focus on whether Congress should legislate to abrogate or otherwise modify the doctrine, this Sidebar explores the legal basis for qualified immunity, how it has operated in practice, and current debate over the efficacy of the doctrine. The Sidebar concludes by discussing considerations for Congress regarding qualified immunity. What Is Qualified Immunity? Qualified immunity is ajudicially created legal doctrine that shields government officials performing discretionary duties from civil liability in cases involving the deprivation of statutory or constitutional rights. Government officials are entitled to qualified immunity so long as their actions do not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. The Supreme Court has observed that qualified immunity balances two important interests -the need to hold public officials accountable when they exercise power irresponsibly and the need to shield officials from harassment, distraction, and liability when they perform their duties reasonably. The immunity's broad protection is intended for all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law and to give government officials breathing room to make reasonable mistakes of fact and law. According to the Supreme Court, the driving force behind qualified immunity was to ensure that Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10492 CRS Lega i&sebar Prepared .- Membersand C o m m;;fte.. o f C one sc o : C--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.............

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most