Promoting Accountability: State and Federal Officials Shouldn’t Be Above the Law Getty/Raymond Boyd
Sam Hananel
Introduction and summary
This summer, Black Lives Matter protests opposing police brutality and systemic racism swept the nation. The federal government’s use of federal troops to violently quell these protests illustrated two legal doctrines in pressing need of reform qualified immunity and
Bivens liability. As courts over the years have expanded qualified immunity and narrowed
Bivens liability, these two doctrines now provide state and federal government officials near-total protection against personal liability for unlawful and abusive actions they take when carrying out their duties.