Cecily Zamora
Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that protects government officials, including police officers, from being held accountable when they violate people's rights. This judge-created rule has been used by police officers to escape accountability and civil liability for engaging in violent and abusive acts against the public. It also prevents victims of police brutality or government misconduct from receiving justice and compensation. While there are laws against police misconduct, charges and convictions of police officers are extremely rare. The Supreme Court has also expanded the use of qualified immunity, making it harder to hold officials accountable. However, there have been rare instances of police officers being prosecuted, such as in the case of George Floyd's death.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Case Law | Chevron deference |
| Harlow v. Fitzgerald | |
| Pierson | |
| Anderson v. Creighton | |
| Saucier v. Katz | |
| Pearson v. Callahan | |
| Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo | |
| Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce | |
| Roe v. Wade | |
| U.S. v. Alvarez | |
| Type of Immunity | Qualified immunity |
| Absolute immunity |
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What You'll Learn
Qualified immunity
For a plaintiff to successfully bring a suit against a public official, they must prove that the official violated a "clearly established" statutory or constitutional right. This means that the plaintiff must demonstrate that the conduct was unlawful and that the official should have known they were violating the law because a prior court case had already deemed similar actions to be illegal.
The Supreme Court has ruled on qualified immunity in several notable cases. In Hope v. Pelzer (2002), the Court found that a prisoner being handcuffed to a hitching post without a shirt in the hot sun for multiple hours violated the Eighth Amendment, even without specific prior case law. Similarly, in Groh v. Ramirez (2004), the Court held that law enforcement officers engaged in an impermissible search due to a faulty warrant, violating the Fourth Amendment. In Taylor v. Riojas, the Court reaffirmed that qualified immunity does not shield officials from liability for cruel and unusual conduct that would shock a reasonable person, even if the specific facts are novel.
While qualified immunity provides important protections for government officials carrying out their duties, it has also been criticised for making it easier for officers to injure or kill civilians without facing legal consequences.
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Absolute immunity
The concept of absolute immunity is particularly prominent in cases involving the U.S. presidency. In Nixon v. Fitzgerald, the Supreme Court ruled that the president enjoys absolute immunity from civil litigation for official acts undertaken while in office. This immunity extends to the outer perimeter of the president's official duties, as mentioned in Trump v. United States. However, in Clinton v. Jones, the Court clarified that the president does not have absolute immunity for acts unrelated to their official responsibilities.
The Supreme Court has also addressed absolute immunity for prosecutors. In Imbler v. Pachtman, the Court ruled that prosecutors cannot be sued for injuries caused by their official actions during a trial, including the withholding of exculpatory evidence. This immunity also covers acts closely related to the criminal process' judicial phase. However, prosecutors do not have absolute immunity when they act as investigators or perform purely administrative functions.
In the context of law enforcement, the Supreme Court has examined immunity for police officers concerning faulty warrants. In Malley v. Briggs, the Court held that qualified immunity does not shield an officer from a wrongful arrest based on an unreasonable warrant. Additionally, in Anderson v. Creighton, the Court ruled that an FBI officer conducting an unlawful search under the Fourth Amendment is entitled to qualified immunity.
While absolute immunity provides a degree of protection for government officials, it is not without controversy. Critics argue that absolute prosecutorial immunity, for example, lacks support from public policy and history and that its application in practice is challenging. On the other hand, supporters contend that such immunity is necessary to shield public servants from frivolous lawsuits.
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Civil rights violations
Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act
Section 1983 (42 U.S.C. Section 1983) is a federal law that allows citizens to sue state or local government officials for violations of their rights conferred by the U.S. Constitution or federal laws. To hold a government official liable under Section 1983, it must be shown that they were "acting under color of law" at the time of the violation, which essentially means an abuse of power. This excludes actions by government officials in their private roles, outside the scope of their jobs. However, qualified immunity may protect government officials from liability under Section 1983 if their actions did not violate a clearly established right that a reasonably competent official should have known.
Bivens Claims
In the case of Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that citizens can bring civil rights claims against federal officials in narrow situations. Bivens claims may be brought when federal law has not provided another way to address a constitutional violation. These claims are less common than Section 1983 claims.
Other Legal Protections
The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice enforces federal laws that protect individuals from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, disability status, sex, religion, familial status, and other constitutional rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 specifically prohibits discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and federally funded programs.
Additionally, federal civil rights statutes make it unlawful for any governmental authority or agent to engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives individuals of their rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States. This includes willfully causing bodily injury or attempting to do so because of an individual's actual or perceived characteristics, such as race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
To address civil rights violations, individuals can file formal claims or lawsuits, reach out to advocacy groups like the ACLU or NAACP, and familiarize themselves with their rights under federal and state laws. Taking prompt and informed action is essential when civil rights violations occur.
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Police brutality
While the United States Constitution and federal laws prohibit police brutality, there are still many instances of police misconduct. The Justice Department has long been criticised for its inability to mete out justice when people’s civil rights are violated. The Civil Rights Act of 1871, which is codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1983, provides that anyone who uses their state or local government position to violate a person’s civil rights can be sued for damages. The Civil Rights Acts passed during Reconstruction also made it a federal crime to deprive someone of their constitutional rights while acting in an official capacity, a provision now known as Section 242.
Section 242, however, has vague wording, and a series of Supreme Court decisions have raised the standard of proof needed for a civil rights violation. This has made it difficult to prosecute police officers, even in cases of homicide. The Supreme Court has also made it easier for law enforcement to avoid civil liability. In 1981, the Court held in Harlow v. Fitzgerald that public officials could get cases dismissed at an earlier stage as long as “their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known”.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has also been criticised for its low rate of filing civil rights charges against law enforcement. From 1990 to 2019, the DOJ filed civil rights charges against law enforcement an average of only 41 times per year. In 2019, federal prosecutors brought just 49 criminal cases against law enforcement for violating civil rights out of a total of over 184,274 federal criminal cases.
Despite the low rate of charges and convictions, there are laws in place to address police misconduct. The DOJ can file a civil lawsuit pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 12601 if an individual is part of a pattern of police brutality incidents inflicted by a police officer or police department. The DOJ can also file a lawsuit if a police officer willfully deprived an individual of their constitutional rights under 18 U.S.C. §§ 241, 242. Additionally, the DOJ can seek relief on behalf of individuals if they were victims of police brutality because of their race, national origin, colour, sex, or religion under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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Federal court intervention
Federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States, have limited powers to ensure compliance with their decisions. While courts may use the contempt power to punish disobedience, this does not guarantee compliance. Public confidence and respect for the courts as fair and impartial arbiters have historically resulted in substantial compliance with court orders.
However, on rare occasions, court decisions have been so controversial that they have inspired defiance. In these cases, the courts may turn to the executive branch for assistance in enforcing their orders. The executive branch, which includes the Pentagon and the President, is one of the three separate but equal branches of the US government, established by the US Constitution. The other two branches are the legislative branch (which makes the law) and the judicial branch (which interprets the law).
The separation of powers and the system of checks and balances are fundamental to the US government, preventing one branch from becoming too powerful. An example of the executive branch enforcing a court order is when President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the US Army's 101st Airborne Division to Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. The state's governor, Orval Faubus, had interfered with the court-approved school desegregation plan, which allowed a group of African American students (the "Little Rock Nine") to attend the previously all-white Central High.
In another instance, President Kennedy was reluctant to use force to enforce a court-ordered desegregation plan at Ole Miss, but eventually dispatched federal troops after a riot involving over 2,000 people broke out.
In terms of specific case law, the US Supreme Court's decision in US v. Alvarez is an example of the Court's role in maintaining the separation of powers and addressing constitutional issues. The Court found that the 2005 legislation prohibiting false claims of military honours violated the First Amendment. As a result, Congress introduced new legislation that narrowed the scope of the original prohibition.
More recently, the US Supreme Court overturned the longstanding "Chevron deference" standard, which required federal courts to defer to reasonable agency decisions when federal law is silent or unclear. This decision will have a significant impact on how courts review legal challenges to regulations, particularly in areas like healthcare.
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Frequently asked questions
Qualified immunity is a judge-created doctrine that protects government officials and police officers from being held accountable when they violate people's rights. It has allowed police officers to escape accountability and civil liability for engaging in violent and abusive acts.
Qualified immunity only applies to suits against government officials as individuals, not suits against the government for damages caused by officials' actions. It is a type of legal immunity that protects a government official from lawsuits alleging that the official violated a plaintiff's rights, only allowing suits where officials violated a "clearly established" statutory or constitutional right.
In 1982, the Supreme Court decided the case of Harlow v. Fitzgerald, which revised and expanded qualified immunity in two ways. Firstly, by eliminating the requirement that officers must have acted in good faith. Secondly, by providing government officials with immunity unless their conduct violated a "clearly established law".
