Unlawful Shield

02/02/2023

The brutal death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police officers is one of the most egregious examples of police misconduct in living memory.

While this instance of police brutality may be especially extreme, it is far from an anomaly or outlier — rather, it’s the predictable consequence of a culture of near‐zero accountability, in which…

02/26/2022

This week, the officers who stood by as George Floyd was murdered were convicted on all counts. We must strive for a future where police stand up to injustice.

Qualified immunity and scant criminal prosecutions still shield cops whose brutality violates the constitutional rights of suspects

07/02/2021

An NYT article from last week describes an officer's frustration with ongoing protests like "being dumped." But this isn't a break-up: it's an intervention.

The American public wants to hold police accountable for wrongful acts. Confidence in policing depends on it.

06/23/2021

Thought leaders on the left and right agree: end qualified immunity! Read this powerful statement from 17 different conservative, progressive, and centrist groups:

05/15/2021

As disappointing as yesterday's news was, some police organizations do support qualified immunity reform.

The Major Cities Chiefs Association’s statement makes plain that there are “compromise” approaches to qualified immunity that accord with reasonable concerns from police organizations, but that still…

05/14/2021

Why did Senator Mike Braun introduce a bill to end qualified immunity only to abruptly about-face and start repeating lies from the law enforcement lobby?
Please speak up if you live in Indiana. The law enforcement lobby is strong and they will resort to buying out our allies in Congress.

Mike Braun’s Astonishing Reversal on Qualified Immunity Reform May 14, 2021 Yesterday, the IndyStar published an op-ed by Republican Senator Mike Braun on the subject: “The federal government should not reform local police departments.” On the whole, the piece is a jumble of contradictions, pa...

05/14/2021

Beware of police reform "solutions" that are little more than window dressing. We MUST end qualified immunity if we want better policing in America.

The public continues to demand accountability and the time has come for Congress to deliver it by repealing or substantially reforming the judge‐​made doctrine of qualified immunity

05/13/2021

Employer liability, by itself, can't fix the damage qualified immunity has done to public trust in police officers.

Employer Liability Is Not an Adequate Solution to Qualified Immunity April 28, 2021 In the wake of Derek Chauvin’s conviction for killing George Floyd, policing reform continues to be debated in Congress, and a bipartisan group of legislators is making progress toward a solution on the key issue o...

05/11/2021

A lot of bad arguments have been proliferating about why we "need" qualified immunity. We've heard them all before.
https://bit.ly/2Nf5PbO

Some defenses of qualified immunity may sound reasonable, but they all rest on misunderstandings or misrepresentations about what qualified immunity actually is, and how it works.

05/10/2021

QI's bold lie: officers don't learn "clearly established law."
https://bit.ly/3bgYrcl

The theoretical justification for many outcomes in qualified immunity cases is without the clear guidance of existing case law, public officials would not be able to discern what conduct is…

05/10/2021

Qualified immunity reform would improve government transparency and make litigation more efficient.

Law review article endorses eliminating qualified immunity—and one step further May 5, 2021 A forthcoming law review article from Professor Katherine Crocker of William and Mary Law School endorses eliminating qualified immunity, which protects individual public officials from lawsuits alleging a ...

05/09/2021

The Major Cities Chiefs Association recent statement on qualified immunity is... actually extremely encouraging.

Major Police Organization Comes Out in Support of Qualified Immunity Reform May 7, 2021 The Major Cities Chiefs Association (“MCCA”) is an organization of 79 police chiefs, commissioners, and sheriffs representing the largest cities in the United States and Canada. Last year, I wrote about how t...