Ending Qualified Immunity Act

The Ending Qualified Immunity Act is legislation (a proposed United States Act of Congress, H.R. 7085), introduced by Justin Amash (L-Michigan) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) to end qualified immunity in the United States.[1][2] Qualified immunity shields police officers and other government officials from legal actions by victims and families, even if their civil rights were violated.[3][4][5][6]

Ending Qualified Immunity Act
Full titleTo amend the Revised Statutes to remove the defense of qualified immunity in the case of any action under section 1979, and for other purposes.
Introduced in116th United States Congress
Introduced onJune 4, 2020
Number of co-sponsors63
Legislative history

When announcing the bill on June 2, 2020, Amash explained:

This week, I am introducing the Ending Qualified Immunity Act to eliminate qualified immunity and restore Americans’ ability to obtain relief when police officers violate their constitutionally secured rights. The brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police is merely the latest in a long line of incidents of egregious police misconduct. This pattern continues because police are legally, politically, and culturally insulated from consequences for violating the rights of the people whom they have sworn to serve. That must change so that these incidents of brutality stop happening.[1]

As of June 30, 2020, the Ending Qualified Immunity Act has 64 cosponsors, all but one of whom are Democrats.[7] This is the first legislation introduced by Amash since he joined the Libertarian Party to become the party's first member of Congress.[8] The bill's sponsorship by members of the Libertarian, Republican, and Democratic parties makes it the first bill to have tripartisan support from members of all three parties.[9]

Representative Pressley has served as the primary sponsor of 32 pieces of legislation since assuming office in 2019.[10]

Background
Main article: Qualified immunity

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine in United States federal law which shields government officials from being held personally liable for discretionary actions performed within their official capacity, unless their actions violate "clearly established" federal law even if their victim's civil rights were violated.[11] The U.S. Supreme Court first introduced the qualified immunity doctrine in 1967, originally with the rationale of protecting law enforcement officials from frivolous lawsuits and financial liability in cases where they acted in good faith in unclear legal situations.[12][13] Starting around 2005, courts increasingly applied the doctrine to cases involving the use of excessive or deadly force by police, leading to widespread criticism that it, in the words of a 2020 Reuters report, "has become a nearly failsafe tool to let police brutality go unpunished and deny victims their constitutional rights".[14]

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References
  1. Prignano, Christina (June 4, 2020). "Ayanna Pressley, Justin Amash introduce bill to end prohibition on lawsuits against police officers". Boston Globe. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  2. Sibilla, Nick (June 3, 2020). "New Bill Would Abolish Qualified Immunity, Make It Easier To Sue Cops Who Violate Civil Rights". Forbes. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  3. Millhiser, Ian (June 3, 2020). "Why police can violate your constitutional rights and suffer no consequences in court". Vox. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  4. Morgan, David (June 4, 2020). "U.S. lawmaker prepares bill aiming to end court protection for police". Reuters. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  5. Alpert, Seth W.; Stoughton, Jeffrey J.; Noble, Geoffrey P. (June 3, 2020). "How to Actually Fix America's Police". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  6. Brandt, Tyler (June 3, 2020). "To Curtail Police Impunity, Rep. Justin Amash Announces Legislation to End 'Qualified Immunity'". Foundation for Economic Education. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  7. Amash, Justin (June 4, 2020). "Cosponsors - H.R.7085 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): To amend the Revised Statutes to remove the defense of qualified immunity in the case of any action under section 1979, and for other purposes". United States Congress. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  8. "Representative Justin Amash (1980 - )". United States Congress. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  9. Binion, Billy (June 11, 2020). "With 1 Republican Cosponsor, Rep. Justin Amash Gains Tripartisan Support To End Qualified Immunity". Reason. Reason. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  10. "Representative Ayanna Pressley (1974 - )". United States Congress. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  11. 63C Am. Jur. 2d Public Officers and Employees § 314-15.
  12. Schwartz, Joanna C. (2017). "How Qualified Immunity Fails" (PDF). The Yale Law Journal. Yale Law School. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  13. Chung, Andrew; Hurley, Lawrence; Botts, Jackie; Januta, Andrea; Gomez, Guillermo (May 8, 2020). "For cops who kill, special Supreme Court protection". Reuters. The increasing frequency of such cases has prompted a growing chorus of criticism from lawyers, legal scholars, civil rights groups, politicians and even judges that qualified immunity, as applied, is unjust. Spanning the political spectrum, this broad coalition says the doctrine has become a nearly failsafe tool to let police brutality go unpunished and deny victims their constitutional rights.
  14. Chung, Andrew; Hurley, Lawrence; Botts, Jackie; Januta, Andrea; Gomez, Guillermo (May 30, 2020). "Special Report: For cops who kill, special Supreme Court protection". Reuters. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
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