New Mexico Abolishes Qualified Immunity

[PoS]

New Mexico Abolishes Qualified Immunity

It is the third state to rein in the legal doctrine that protects state actors from accountability for misconduct.

reason.com

Awesome news! I hope all the other states follow. Cops and gubmint workers shouldnt be immune from breaking the law.

 

[ttwtt78640]

New Mexico Abolishes Qualified Immunity

It is the third state to rein in the legal doctrine that protects state actors from accountability for misconduct.

reason.com

Awesome news! I hope all the other states follow. Cops and gubmint workers shouldnt be immune from breaking the law.

I hope this extends to the state making an arrest and bringing criminal charges which either result in the criminal charges being dismissed or result in a not guilty verdict.

 

[Binary_Digit]

New Mexico Abolishes Qualified Immunity

It is the third state to rein in the legal doctrine that protects state actors from accountability for misconduct.

reason.com

Awesome news! I hope all the other states follow. Cops and gubmint workers shouldnt be immune from breaking the law.

Government actors are employees of the people. They must be held accountable for misconduct just like the rest of us. Good cops police their own, otherwise they're not good cops.

 

[Common Sense 1]

I hope the new law works as intended?

I think it will have a chilling effect on good officers who are just trying to protect society. If that happens society will suffer the unattended results. Increase in criminal activity.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Government actors are employees of the people. They must be held accountable for misconduct just like the rest of us. Good cops police their own, otherwise they're not good cops.

I’m more concerned with the DAs who have the power to criminally charge and jail someone without sufficient cause (evidence) to get a conviction. I have been jailed (and bonded out) pretrial for felonies twice with no convictions. There should be legal recourse (and monetary compensation) for essentially having been officially kidnapped and jailed for a few days.

Being detained briefly by police for questioning is not that big of a deal, but actually being charged with a felony by the DA and jailed (pretrial) for a few days (prior to securing bond) is a big deal.

 

[Aunt Antifa]

Government actors are employees of the people. They must be held accountable for misconduct just like the rest of us. Good cops police their own, otherwise they're not good cops.

Which is why there are no good cops currently.

 

[Aunt Antifa]

I’m more concerned with the DAs who have the power to criminally charge and jail someone without sufficient cause (evidence) to get a conviction. I have been jailed (and bonded out) pretrial for felonies twice with no convictions. There should be legal recourse (and monetary compensation) for essentially having been officially kidnapped and jailed for a few days.

Being detained briefly by police for questioning is not that big of a deal, but actually being charged with a felony by the DA and jailed (pretrial) for a few days (prior to securing bond) is a big deal.

Eh, Im sure there’s a reason LEO’s got involved with you in the first place. Cops don’t just do stuff. They can tell by looking.

 

[bomberfox]

About damn time.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Eh, Im sure there’s a reason LEO’s got involved with you in the first place. Cops don’t just do stuff. They can tell by looking.

Apparently not, since in both cases the alleged victims testified in court that I was not guilty. Why the DA did not bother to interview the alleged victims prior to indicting me was, IMHO, gross negligence. In one case the LEOs responded (along with paramedics) to a 911 call (made by me) for medical assistance and in the other they were serving an arrest warrant.

 

[Aunt Antifa]

Apparently not, since in both cases the alleged victims testified in court that I was not guilty. Why the DA did not bother to interview the alleged victims prior to indicting me was, IMHO, gross negligence. In one case the LEOs responded (along with paramedics) to a 911 call (made by me) for medical assistance and in the other they were serving an arrest warrant.

I’m sure they had valid reasons to treat you as they did. Maybe you weren’t complying.

 

[ttwtt78640]

I’m sure they had valid reasons to treat you as they did. Maybe you weren’t complying.

I was complying just fine, otherwise they would have added resisting arrest charges. Like I said earlier, I have no problem being detained briefly and questioned by police.

 

[Binary_Digit]

I’m sure they had valid reasons to treat you as they did. Maybe you weren’t complying.

Probably looked like a thug too!

I mean, who can't tell this guy is guilty just by the way he looks? And look how combative he gets during the interview!

 

[Binary_Digit]

I was complying just fine, otherwise they would have added resisting arrest charges. Like I said earlier, I have no problem being detained briefly and questioned by police.

Auntie's not being serious, she's just making a sarcasm sammich.

 

[bongsaway]

Apparently not, since in both cases the alleged victims testified in court that I was not guilty. Why the DA did not bother to interview the alleged victims prior to indicting me was, IMHO, gross negligence. In one case the LEOs responded (along with paramedics) to a 911 call (made by me) for medical assistance and in the other they were serving an arrest warrant.

Cops are not your friend. My local swat team showed up at my house without a warrant which didn't slow them down from rushing into my home after I answered the door. One shouted where's the meth lab and in they went. I spent a month in jail and fifteen grand just to have the case dropped. There was no meth lab but I did have some cannabis so off to jail I went.

 

[PoS]

I hope the new law works as intended?

I think it will have a chilling effect on good officers who are just trying to protect society. If that happens society will suffer the unattended results. Increase in criminal activity.

I think good cops almost never have to use this defense, since they would hardly be involved in a controversial shooting or arrest. It's usually the bad ones that end up having to fall back on it.

I’m more concerned with the DAs who have the power to criminally charge and jail someone without sufficient cause (evidence) to get a conviction. I have been jailed (and bonded out) pretrial for felonies twice with no convictions. There should be legal recourse (and monetary compensation) for essentially having been officially kidnapped and jailed for a few days.

Being detained briefly by police for questioning is not that big of a deal, but actually being charged with a felony by the DA and jailed (pretrial) for a few days (prior to securing bond) is a big deal.

Yeah the power that the state has at their disposal is pretty frightening. The most Ive spent in jail was in a drunk tank, but I have known people who got hit with tougher things.

Legal fees and penalties are a worse crisis than healthcare costs if you get caught up in it.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Auntie's not being serious, she's just making a sarcasm sammich.

Not surprising from someone who seems to consider that there are no good police officers.

 

[eohrnberger]

From reading the OP's cited Reason article, yes, there appears to be a need for a straight forward path to assess and address an instance where a LEO violates rights and laws, and that this appears to be lacking.

Opening LEOs to civil action by abolishing qualified immunity, isn't that going to result in nearly every arrest starting a civil case?
How many criminals fraudulently claim innocence? How are these cases identified and curtailed?

Opening LEOs to civil action by abolishing qualified immunity might be an over correction.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Cops are not your friend. My local swat team showed up at my house without a warrant which didn't slow them down from rushing into my home after I answered the door. One shouted where's the meth lab and in they went. I spent a month in jail and fifteen grand just to have the case dropped. There was no meth lab but I did have some cannabis so off to jail I went.

Yep, contraband possession inside your home is an affront to (shows disrespect towards?) the powers that be. Even doing X, which is completely legal with a permit, is considered a crime (without the X permit).

 

[ttwtt78640]

From reading the OP's cited Reason article, yes, there appears to be a need for a straight forward path to assess and address an instance where a LEO violates rights and laws, and that this appears to be lacking.

Opening LEOs to civil action by abolishing qualified immunity, isn't that going to result in nearly every arrest starting a civil case?
How many criminals fraudulently claim innocence? How are these cases identified and curtailed?

Opening LEOs to civil action by abolishing qualified immunity might be an over correction.

LEOs having probable cause to detain (arrest?) someone for questioning “by experts” is vastly different than claiming to be able to prove a criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt. That is why I hold DAs (who made formal criminal charges) to a much higher standard than LEOs (who simply made an arrest).

 

[Binary_Digit]

From reading the OP's cited Reason article, yes, there appears to be a need for a straight forward path to assess and address an instance where a LEO violates rights and laws, and that this appears to be lacking.

Opening LEOs to civil action by abolishing qualified immunity, isn't that going to result in nearly every arrest starting a civil case?
How many criminals fraudulently claim innocence? How are these cases identified and curtailed?

Opening LEOs to civil action by abolishing qualified immunity might be an over correction.

Gross misconduct by a LEO should carry a criminal charge, not civil. And bringing a civil suit is neither free nor easy, so assuming it could happen in "nearly every arrest" is kinda nonsense.

 

[eohrnberger]

Gross misconduct by a LEO should carry a criminal charge, not civil. And bringing a civil suit is neither free nor easy, so assuming it could happen in "nearly every arrest" is kinda nonsense.

"Gross misconduct by a LEO should carry a criminal charge, not civil."
I agree with this. It would also force the DA to review the case to see if there even is a case.
It might even be best for such cases to be assigned to a prosecutor who doesn't work with LEOs on a daily basis on other criminal cases, so as to have greater professional distance with the idea of greater impartiality.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Gross misconduct by a LEO should carry a criminal charge, not civil. And bringing a civil suit is neither free nor easy, so assuming it could happen in "nearly every arrest" is kinda nonsense.

While there are certainly costs to bringing a civil case to trial, it does not depend entirely on getting the cooperation of the state (DA) to do so. It’s much easier to prove (win?) a civil case with a preponderance of evidence than to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The problem appears to be that the state (or police union) may still provide the accused (agent of the state) with vast legal resources for their civil defense, while the person making the civil accusation is forced to use only their personal resources to secure legal help.

 

[Aunt Antifa]

Auntie's not being serious, she's just making a sarcasm sammich.

Remarkable how these events only count as malfeasance when it’s anecodotal. Make it a news story, change the “protagonist’s” skin color, and gee, what was he doin there why was he there maybe he didn’t listen if a cop is on your doorstep you did something wrong yada yada infinity.

 

[Peter]

I have friends who are and my mother was a civil servant until she retired and they had to follow the same laws as everyone else and didn't have anything mlike qualified immunity.
One of my friends missus is a HR head for the police and she doesn't have any special protections and nor should she.

The police are supposed to uphold the law not be above it.

 

[bomberfox]

Qualified immunity is one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in the modern age. Police already have legal protections.