Judge Calls on Supreme Court to Overturn Principle That Has Shielded Police From Lawsuits

A federal judge in Mississippi has issued a sharply worded ruling that calls on the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the principle of qualified immunity, which protects law enforcement officers from being sued for some of their actions.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit that Clarence Jamison, a Black resident of Neeses, South Carolina, filed against a white Mississippi police officer, Nick McClendon. The lawsuit said McClendon used Jamison’s race as a “motivating factor” for pulling McClendon over in traffic and searching his car.

In dismissing the case, Reeves cited court precedents on qualified immunity, but he wrote that the principle has shielded officers who violate people’s constitutional rights.

Publish : 2020-08-06 14:57:13

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