Building Police Accountability by Ending Qualified Immunity (2022)

Qualified immunity is a doctrine created by the United States Supreme Court that shields government officials from lawsuits for money damages even if they violated an individual’s constitutional or civil rights — including by using excessive force — so long as they haven’t violated what the court calls “clearly established” law. For a violation to be clearly established, plaintiffs must show there is another case where a court overruled a qualified immunity defense on identical or nearly identical facts — and that is extremely difficult to do.

S375/A1006 will amend the New Jersey Civil Rights Act so that qualified immunity is no longer a defense for law enforcement.