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

1 1 (February 7, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govekmh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional aResearch Service Congress and Police Reform: Recent Proposals Updated February 7, 2023 In May and June 2020, protests erupted nationwide after the publication of video footage of a Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee into the neck of George Floyd, causing his death. That incident and others like it sparked heightened interest in Congress's ability to implement reforms of state and local law enforcement. More recently, the January 2023 death of Tyre Nichols after a beating by Memphis police officers prompted renewed calls for law enforcement reform. A companion to this Legal Sidebar provides an overview of existing federal authorities intended to prevent and redress constitutional violations by state and local public safety officials. This Sidebar presents selected recent proposals related to federal regulation of federal, state, and local law enforcement, including an overview of two comprehensive law enforcement reform bills from the 117th Congress, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 and the Just and Unifying Solutions To Invigorate Communities Everywhere Act of 2021 (JUSTICE Act). Proposals for Law Enforcement Reform in Congress Before the high-profile events of May and June 2020, commentators and legislators had suggested various avenues for congressional reform and oversight of federal, state, and local law enforcement. Events since May 2020 have prompted additional proposals, including bills that would target specific issues and comprehensive proposals that would alter federal regulation of law enforcement on many fronts. Qualified Immunity One topic that has generated significant debate in recent years is the doctrine of qualified immunity, which limits the liability of federal law enforcement officers in suits under Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents and state and local law enforcement officers in suits under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Section 1983). A May 2020 report by Reuters found that since 2005, the [federal appellate] courts have shown an increasing tendency to grant immunity in excessive force cases. Critics of qualified immunity assert that the flexibility the Supreme Court provided to courts in Pearson v. Callahan improperly hinders Section 1983 claims. That decision allows courts in some cases to consider only whether a defendant violated clearly established law, without reaching the question of whether the defendant violated the plaintiff's rights. Critics therefore assert that not only is it difficult for plaintiffs to overcome a claim of qualified immunity, but such cases will also not clearly establish law that could govern future Section 1983 cases. Some commentators assert that the current doctrine of qualified immunity fails to protect law enforcement Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10914 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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