Qualified Immunity Act of 2023
This bill provides statutory authority for qualified immunity for law enforcement officers in civil cases involving constitutional violations.
Current law provides a statutory civil cause of action against state and local government actors (e.g., law enforcement officers) for violations of constitutional rights, also known as Section 1983 lawsuits. The Supreme Court has also found an implied cause of action against federal law enforcement officers in certain situations (e.g., Fourth Amendment violations), also known as Bivens lawsuits. However, under the judicial doctrine of qualified immunity, government officials performing discretionary duties are generally shielded from civil liability, unless their actions violate clearly established rights of which a reasonable person would have known.
The bill provides statutory authority for these principles with respect to law enforcement officers. Specifically, under the bill, law enforcement officers are entitled to qualified immunity if (1) at the time of the alleged violation, the constitutional right at issue was not clearly established or the state of the law was not sufficiently clear for every reasonable officer to know that the conduct was unconstitutional; or (2) a court has held that the specific conduct at issue is constitutional.
The bill applies to federal, state, and local law enforcement officers. It also specifies that law enforcement agencies and local governments may not be held liable if their officers are entitled to qualified immunity.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 233 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 233
To amend the Revised Statutes to codify the defense of qualified
immunity in the case of any action under section 1979, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 10, 2023
Mr. Banks introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Revised Statutes to codify the defense of qualified
immunity in the case of any action under section 1979, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Qualified Immunity Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Qualified immunity is intended for all but the plainly
incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law and is meant
to give government officials breathing room to make reasonable
mistakes of fact and law.
(2) The Supreme Court has observed that qualified immunity
balances two important interests, the need to hold law
enforcement officers accountable when they exercise power
irresponsibly and the need to shield officers from harassment,
distraction, and liability when they perform their duties
reasonably.
SEC. 3. CODIFICATION OF QUALIFIED IMMUNITY.
(a) In General.--Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C.
1983) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(a) In General--'' before ``Every
person''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(b) Applicability to Law Enforcement Officers.--
``(1) A law enforcement officer subject to an action under
this section in their individual capacity shall not be found
liable if such law enforcement officer establishes that--
``(A) the right, privilege, or immunity secured by
the Constitution or Federal law was not clearly
established at the time of their deprivation by the law
enforcement officer, or that at this time, the state of
the law was not sufficiently clear that every
reasonable law enforcement officer would have
understood that the conduct alleged constituted a
violation of the Constitution or Federal law; or
``(B) a court of competent jurisdiction had issued
a final decision on the merits holding, without
reversal, vacatur, or preemption, that the specific
conduct alleged to be unlawful was consistent with the
Constitution and Federal laws.
``(2) A law enforcement agency or unit of local government
who employed a law enforcement officer subject to an action
under subsection (a), shall not be liable for such action if
the law enforcement officer is found not liable under paragraph
(1) and was acting within the scope of their employment.
``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Law enforcement officer.--The term `law enforcement
officer' means any Federal, State, Tribal, or local official
who is authorized by law to engage in or supervise the
prevention, detection, investigation, or the incarceration of
any person for any violation of law, and has the statutory
powers of arrest or apprehension, including police officers and
other agents of a law enforcement agency.
``(2) Law enforcement agency.--The term `law enforcement
agency' means any Federal, State, Tribal, or local public
agency engaged in supervision, prevention, detection,
investigation, or the incarceration of any person for any
violation of law, and has the statutory powers of arrest or
apprehension.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made under subsection (a) shall
take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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