HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle

Why Bad Cops Aren't Punished: The Case Against Qualified Immunity

Views: 835
Police officers shouldn't be above the law.

----
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV?subconfirmation=1
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.
-----

Following the police killing of George Floyd, the once-obscure legal doctrine known as qualified immunity has been thrust into the national spotlight.

The judge-made doctrine effectively shields police from most civil lawsuits unless their specific conduct has been "clearly established" as unconstitutional in a previous case.

"You know, there's an old adage, ignorance of the law is no excuse," says William Baude, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. "The one group of people for whom it is an excuse are the government officials who…should know what they are and aren't supposed to do."

This sweeping protection, wich was never voted on or signed into law, evolved over decades of judicial actions to give government officials room to make judgment calls without fear of lawsuits.

"The court can fix it anytime," says Baude. "But Congress can also fix it. Because it's just an interpretation of a statute that Congress wrote, Congress also has the power to step in…to either change the doctrine or repeal it entirely."

The Supreme Court recently dealt a blow to reformers by declining to hear a set of cases questioning the constitutionality of qualified immunity. Currently, the only hope for quick reform is legislation like the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Justin Amash (L–Mich.).

"I don't think reforming or even abolishing qualified immunity is going to change all the problems we have with policing in this country," says Baude. "There's a lot of research that police unions are another huge part of the problem because they make it really hard to hold bad apples accountable….But I do hope that by creating the sense that the police are not above the law, that it could sort of lead to some of the bigger cultural changes we probably need."

Produced and edited by Meredith Bragg; protest footage by Mark McDaniel, Zach Weismueller, and Paul Detrick. 

Photo credits: Image of Sport/Newscom, Anthony Behar/Sipa USA/Newscom, Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA/NewscomKaren Neoh/Flicker, Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Newscom, Aaron Guy Leroux/Sipa USA/Newscom, Everett Collection/Newscom, Doug Mills/picture alliance / Consolidated/Newscom, Brian Branch Price/ZUMA Press/Newscom, Adolphe Pierre-Louis/ZUMA Press/Newscom, Stefani Reynolds/CNP/AdMedia/Newscom, Joel Marklund/ZUMA Press/Newscom, John Rudoff/Sipa USA/Newscom
@ReasonVidsfollow
Thumbnail for Citizen vs. Government (Vol. 2)2:11
Citizen vs. Government (Vol. 2)
ReasonVids
815 views
Thumbnail for How to Impeach the President (Or Not)2:29
How to Impeach the President (Or Not)
ReasonVids
852 views
Thumbnail for Remy: I Like it, I Love it (Tim McGraw Parody)2:03
Remy: I Like it, I Love it (Tim McGraw Parody)
ReasonVids
921 views
Thumbnail for Folk High Schools, Adult Education, and the Philosophy of Nikolaj Grundtvig10:32
Folk High Schools, Adult Education, and the Philosophy of Nikolaj Grundtvig
ReasonVids
783 views
Thumbnail for Badass Danish Girl (1969)0:35
Badass Danish Girl (1969)
bestofnab
1797 views
Thumbnail for The Holohoax0:47
The Holohoax
AOUisgay
499 views
Thumbnail for redneck teaches rich boy a lesson0:32
redneck teaches rich boy a lesson
bestofupgoat
91 views
Thumbnail for Thank God for Pope Francis - and Budget Gridlock!2:15
Thank God for Pope Francis - and Budget Gridlock!
ReasonVids
915 views
Thumbnail for The Past and Future of Psychedelics with Rick Doblin1:05:03
The Past and Future of Psychedelics with Rick Doblin
ReasonVids
787 views
Thumbnail for Why Americans Are Suckers for Quick Fixes From Psychologists5:01
Why Americans Are Suckers for Quick Fixes From Psychologists
ReasonVids
881 views
Thumbnail for Khabib Nurmagomedov DROPS Conor McGregor 😳 #ufc | UFC0:59
Khabib Nurmagomedov DROPS Conor McGregor 😳 #ufc | UFC
invidious
78 views
Thumbnail for We Are As Gods: Stewart Brand & The Fight to Bring Back Extinct Species6:11
We Are As Gods: Stewart Brand & The Fight to Bring Back Extinct Species
ReasonVids
892 views
Thumbnail for jew gives presentation on replacement of Whites with "people of color".2:30
jew gives presentation on replacement of Whites with "people of color".
allAheadFull
645 views
Thumbnail for Justin Amash Left the GOP—Opening a New Set of Possibilities in American Politics3:42
Justin Amash Left the GOP—Opening a New Set of Possibilities in American Politics
ReasonVids
1074 views
Thumbnail for Immortality through delicious t shirt money4:38
Immortality through delicious t shirt money
murdochmurdoch
1169 views
Thumbnail for NBC: Dallas Businesses Refuse to Remove Signs1:26
NBC: Dallas Businesses Refuse to Remove Signs
IJvids
895 views
Thumbnail for Obamacare Launch Eroding Faith in Government as Problem Solver: Reason-Rupe Poll December 20134:34
Obamacare Launch Eroding Faith in Government as Problem Solver: Reason-Rupe Poll December 2013
ReasonVids
913 views
Thumbnail for This perfectly describes socialists.0:15
This perfectly describes socialists.
bestofsaidit
971 views
Thumbnail for California Killed 1.2 Million Birds To Stop a Virus. Pet Owners Say They Were Terrorized.12:59
California Killed 1.2 Million Birds To Stop a Virus. Pet Owners Say They Were Terrorized.
ReasonVids
904 views
Thumbnail for Porker of the Month January 20111:33
Porker of the Month January 2011
ReasonVids
892 views
Thumbnail for The CPAC Foreign Policy Split: Old Hawks and Young Doves3:34
The CPAC Foreign Policy Split: Old Hawks and Young Doves
ReasonVids
860 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian, reason magazine, reason.com, reason.tv, reasontv, qualified immunity, george floyd, police misconduct, cops, police abuse, reform, qi, lawsuit, supreme court, protest, blm, black lives matter, police reform
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle