By any measure, the conditions that Lee Saunders endured in the psych unit at the Brevard County jail in Florida were shockingly inhumane. But when he sued over the overcrowding, abusive treatment, and denial of basic sanitation, the courts ruled that the officer in charge was immune from suit. On this episode, we explore the state of qualified immunity doctrine today and whether the Supreme Court’s justifications for its policy of shielding officials from suit—even when they have violated the Constitution—hold water.
Click here for transcript.
Guests
Joanna Schwartz, UCLA Law
Robert McNamara, Institute for Justice
Elizabeth Cruikshank, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Tiffany Wright, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Coleman Watson, Watson LLP
Resources
Joanna Schwartz, Qualified Immunity’s Boldest Lie
Joanna Schwartz, Police Indemnification
Joanna Schwartz, How Qualified Immunity Fails
Recent Episodes
Punishment Without Crime | Season 3, Ep. 9
Civil forfeiture is a civil rights nightmare, allowing police and prosecutors to seize billions of dollars’ worth of property annually—cash, cars, houses, bank accounts, and […]
Listen NowPublic Purpose | Season 3, Ep. 8
In 2005, in the case of Kelo v. New London, the Supreme Court allowed officials to seize and raze an entire neighborhood of well-maintained homes […]
Listen NowThe Despotic Power | Season 3, Ep. 7
On this episode: Berman v. Parker, the Supreme Court’s decision in 1954 to abandon previous constitutional limits on the government’s power to take property from […]
Listen NowThis is Mine | Season 3, Ep. 6
On this episode, we take a break from case law and go way back to the beginning to examine the origins and justifications of private […]
Listen Now