ALBANY, N.Y. (Jan. 15, 2025) – A bill filed in the New York Assembly seeks to abolish the doctrine of qualified immunity, paving the way for lawsuits against government officials, including law enforcement officers, in state court for rights violations.
Assm. Phillip Steck and three cosponsors filed Assembly Bill 1003 (A1003). Under the proposed law, an individual subjected to “the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities” secured by the New York state constitution and the laws of the state could sue the offending public authorities for equitable relief in state court. The legislation would exclude “qualified immunity” as a defense in such suits:
“The doctrine of qualified immunity is hereby abolished and shall not be asserted as a defense to any action arising under this section, unless specifically set forth in this section.”
ANOTHER PATH
Typically, people sue police and other government officials for using excessive force or other types of misconduct in the federal court system under the U.S. Bill of Rights. But federal courts created a qualified immunity defense out of thin air, making it nearly impossible to hold law enforcement officers responsible for actions taken in the line of duty.
The Supreme Court and Congress show no interest in rolling back the qualified immunity doctrine. The best path forward is to bypass the federal system.
In effect, the passage of A1003 would do so by creating an alternative path to address violations of rights in state court with no qualified immunity hurdle to clear.
Similar laws have been passed in Colorado and New Mexico, and California closed some of the qualified immunity loopholes in its state law.
THE PROCESS
It remains unclear how the process created by A1003 would play out.
The first question is whether people will utilize the state courts instead of the federal court system. Under the original constitutional system, such questions would have never been a federal issue to begin with. Regulation of police powers was reserved to the states, not the federal government.
But with the advent of the incorporation doctrine, people reflexively run to federal courts. Removing the federally created qualified immunity hurdle incentivizes people to take advantage of the state system.
The second question is if police officers will be able to transfer cases to federal jurisdiction to take advantage of qualified immunity.
A1003 potentially makes it less likely because it only invokes the state constitution.
However, even if the suit is focused on state law and the New York constitution, state and local law enforcement officers working on joint state/federal task forces would almost certainly be able to move the case to federal court. They are effectively treated as federal agents.
One attorney told the Tenth Amendment Center that it might be possible for officers to have their case removed to federal court to consider U.S. constitutional ramifications. But he said even then, he thinks federal courts would have to respect the state law prohibiting qualified immunity as a defense. The federal court would likely have to apply the state law as the state intended, even though the federal court might well be able to decide whether or not a U.S. constitutional violation had taken place.
Other lawyers said it wasn’t clear to them that the federal courts would have to honor the state statute. It is possible that the federal court could simply decide its jurisdiction supersedes state law and hear the case under the federal process, including the application of qualified immunity. Only time will tell how the process will play out in practice. Regardless, the state process will make it more difficult for police to simply side-step civil suits by declaring qualified immunity upfront.
WHAT’S NEXT
A1003 was referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee, where it will need to pass by a majority vote before moving forward in the legislative process.
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