Qualified Immunity

What Is It?

For victims of police violence, justice in the criminal courts is frequently flawed and non-existent. In crimes that are perpetrated by non-governmental persons, victims can often gain some redress by bringing a civil case. Not so when peace officers are involved, because of a judicial doctrine known as qualified immunity.

Qualified Immunity means that police can only be held accountable  for violating a person’s rights if there are “clearly established” fact patterns in already existing case law. So, in order for an officer to be held liable or accountable, the situation has to match a previous case involving the exact same circumstances. 

Why Care?

When constitutional rights are violated, the majority of civil lawsuits result in favor of the government officials and not of the citizen that was harmed; peace officers are rarely held accountable for harm they have caused and therefore have no incentive to change. One of the biggest challenges to justice has to do with qualified immunity, which has made it virtually impossible for victims to gain redress, as it prevents accountability of police for their actions.

In the Legislature

HB 1202

Addressing meaningful civil remedies for persons injured as a result of police misconduct, including by allowing for an award of attorney fees in addition to damages and injunctive and declaratory relief.

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For example, a case where a man was on his knees with his hands up was shot by police. The defense brought an example of a person who was laying on the ground, with hands up. Because this was considered a different enough “fact pattern,” the officer was considered to have “acted in good faith,” and therefore could not be held liable.