Where’s the Party of Small Government?
Rep. Justin Amash (L-Mich.), a former Republican who left the party to join the Libertarian Party, has pushed a new bill that will end qualified immunity.
Qualified immunity prohibits civilians from suing police officers who violate their constitutional rights while on the job.
In theory, qualified immunity prevents frivilous civil lawsuits. But in actually, it gives police a carte blanche to do bad things without penalty.
“It is the sense of the Congress that we must correct the erroneous interpretation of section 1983 which provides for qualified immunity,” the bill reads, “and reiterate the standard found on the face of the statute, which does not limit liability on the basis of the defendant’s good faith beliefs or on the basis that the right was not ‘clearly established’ at the time of the violation.”
Amash’s bill would end qualified immunity… but, despite attracting 16 Democratic supporters, it has not attracted a single Republican in Congress.
