Qualified Immunity Abolition Act

Bill: 116-hr-8979
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Hall, Kwanza [D-GA-5]
Introduced: 2020-12-16
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Subjects: Civil actions and liability

Constitution and constitutional amendments

Due process and equal protection

Government liability

Law enforcement officers
Latest action: action_date: 2020-12-16
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-12-16
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b><b>Qualified Immunity Abolition Act</b></b></p> <p>This bill eliminates the defense of qualified immunity in civil actions for deprivation of rights. <i>Qualified immunity</i> is a judicially created doctrine that protects government employees or those acting with state authority from being held personally liable for constitutional violations.</p> <p>The bill provides that under the statute allowing a civil action alleging deprivation of rights under color of law, it shall not be a defense or immunity to any such action that (1) the defendant was acting in good faith or believed that his or her conduct was lawful at the time it was committed; (2) the rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws were not clearly established at the time of their deprivation; or (3) the state of the law was such that the defendant could not reasonably have been expected to know whether his or her conduct was lawful.

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8979 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 16, 2020 Mr. Hall introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Revised Statutes of the United States to eliminate qualified immunity, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Qualified Immunity Abolition Act . 2. Elimination of qualified immunity Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States ( 42 U.S.C. 1983 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: It shall not be a defense or immunity to any action brought under this section that the defendant was acting in good faith, or that the defendant believed, reasonably or otherwise, that his or her conduct was lawful at the time when it was committed. Nor shall it be a defense or immunity that the rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws were not clearly established at the time of their deprivation by the defendant, or that the state of the law was otherwise such that the defendant could not reasonably have been expected to know whether his or her conduct was lawful. .