0
Qualified Immunity Act of 2025
2/13/2025, 7:47 PM
Summary of Bill HR 503
The bill seeks to provide clarity and consistency in the application of qualified immunity by enshrining it in the law. This would ensure that government officials, including law enforcement officers, are able to perform their duties without fear of facing personal financial liability for their actions.
In addition to codifying qualified immunity, the bill also includes provisions for other purposes, although specific details on these purposes are not provided in the summary. It is likely that these additional provisions are related to further clarifying the scope and application of qualified immunity in various legal contexts. Overall, Bill 119 HR 503 represents an effort to solidify the legal protections afforded to government officials through the doctrine of qualified immunity, with the goal of promoting effective governance and law enforcement while also upholding constitutional rights.
Congressional Summary of HR 503
Qualified Immunity Act of 2025
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.
