Patrick Jaicomo is a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice and one of the leaders of IJ’s Project on Immunity and Accountability. Through the project, Patrick works to dismantle judicially created immunity doctrines and ensure that government officials are held accountable when they violate the Constitution.
In November 2020, Patrick argued the police brutality case Brownback v. King before the U.S. Supreme Court. In March 2024, Patrick returned to the high court for the First Amendment retaliation case Gonzalez v. Trevino and again in October 2024, when the court granted, vacated, and reversed the denial of a similar retaliation claim in Murphy v. Schmitt. Patrick has litigated immunity and accountability issues—including qualified immunity, judicial immunity, and the restriction of constitutional claims against federal workers—across the United States and at every level of the court system.
Before joining IJ, Patrick was a litigator at a private firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he cultivated a civil rights practice and handled a variety of cases in state and federal court. He earned his law degree from the University of Chicago and a degree in economics and political science from the University of Notre Dame.
Patrick’s work has been featured in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and USA Today. He has also appeared on numerous podcasts and television programs, authored academic articles, and frequently gives presentations on his areas of expertise.
Patrick's Cases
Private Property | SWAT Destruction
Martin v. United States
FBI agents raided the wrong home in suburban Atlanta. Now the federal government refuses to compensate the victims even though Congress passed a law permitting suits for damages caused by federal employees.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Martinez v. High
Desiree Martinez bravely reported to the police the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her boyfriend, Kyle Pennington. But Pennington was a police officer, and came from a family of officers. Instead of…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Murphy v. Schmitt
Have you ever heard of someone being arrested and sent to jail for walking on the wrong side of the road? Probably not — because police officers never, or almost never, arrest people for such…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property | SWAT Destruction
Jimerson v. Lewis – Texas Wrong House Raid
Everyone who visits a home for the first time—including delivery drivers, plumbers, and Girl Scouts—knows that you have to make sure you have the right address before barging in. Somehow, Waxahachie Police Department (WPD) Lieutenant…
Immunity and Accountability | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property | SWAT Destruction
South Bend SWAT Destruction
In South Bend, a SWAT team raided the wrong home, leaving a single mom with thousands of dollars in damage not covered by insurance. She is suing for compensation.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Corporal Punishment Cert Petition
A New Orleans-area mother of a young girl is asking the United States Supreme Court to hear her case challenging a lower court’s decision to shield all violence by public-school officials from constitutional review. In…
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation
Iowa Retaliation
The right to criticize the government is a pillar of our constitutional republic—embodied in the text and history of the First Amendment. And yet, across the country that right continues to be violated by unaccountable…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Mohamud v. Weyker
Can a local police offifcer launder her lies and deceit through a state-federal task force to hide behind absolute federal immunity? IJ doesn’t think so, but with the help of the federal government, St. Paul…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Louisiana Overdetention
Percy Taylor was kept in a Louisiana prison 525 days past his release date. He is not alone in being held beyond his sentence in a Louisiana detention facility. In January 2023, the U.S. Department…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Yassin v. Weyker
It is well documented that St. Paul police officer Heather Weyker fabricated a crime ring and single-handedly ruined the lives of dozens of people, who she landed in federal prison through what one federal…
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability
J.T.H. v. Spring Cook
Investigations can be an effective tool for intimidation. Government officials across the ideological spectrum weaponize this power to punish those who speak out against them. The stories of junk investigations are legion. Los Angeles just…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
West Virginia Judicial Field Trip
The Institute for Justice (IJ) teamed up with a West Virginia man whose rights were violated by a Raleigh County family court judge. IJ and Matthew Gibson are urging the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Louisiana Traffic Stop
Mario Rosales and his girlfriend were pulled over for failing to signal, but a police camera clearly showed him signaling. Now Mario is suing over the Alexandria Police Department's "fishing trip" traffic stops.
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability
Novak v. Parma
Anthony Novak was arrested by his local police after he parodied the department on Facebook. His lawsuit against the city was dismissed after the officers were given qualified immunity.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Mario Rosales Qualified Immunity
Mario Rosales was held at gunpoint by an off-duty sheriff's deputy even though he had done nothing wrong. Still, a court granted the officer qualified immunity and dismissed Mario's civil rights lawsuit.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Minnesota CSI
Can any government employee—such as a highway engineer who was never granted any police authority whatsoever—pull you over and detain you? Yes, at least if one federal appeals court gets its way.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
USPS Mail Seizure
The U.S. Post Office cannot open someone's mail without getting a warrant.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Pollreis Cert Petition
A police officer in Arkansas held two innocent children at gun point when he was supposed to be searching for an adult suspect. IJ is asking the Supreme Court to hear the family’s case and…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Byrd v. Lamb
When police violate the rights of Americans, as they did to Kevin Byrd and Hamdi Mahmoud, they should be held accountable. IJ is asking the Supreme Court to take both of these cases and ensure…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Oliva v. Nivar
José Oliva was brutally beaten by federal officers in an unprovoked attack at a VA Hospital. This attack violated his Fourth Amendment rights, and IJ filed a petition to have the Supreme Court take on…
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability
Gonzalez v. Trevino
After she won her election to city council, Sylvia Gonzalez immediately began getting harassed by city officials whom she had criticized in the past. It got so bad she was even arrested and thrown in…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
King v. Brownback
Brownback v. King is IJ’s first Immunity and Accountability case that was argued before the United States Supreme Court. It involves James King, an innocent college student who was brutally beaten and choked unconscious by…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Woodcrest Homes, Inc. v. Carousel Farms Metro. Dis
Imagine if two of your neighbors got together, claimed they established a new town, and then “voted” to take your property from you using eminent domain. Crazy, right? Not in Colorado, where the owners of…
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Washington Street Fees
Linda Cameron wanted to add a bedroom and bathroom to her modest home, but the city of Richland told her she’d first have to pay for renovations to the city’s streets adjoining her property. The…
Patrick's Research & Reports
Immunity and Accountability
Unqualified Immunity and the Betrayal of Butz v. Economou: How the Supreme Court Quietly Granted Federal Officials Absolute Immunity for Constitutional Violations
Betraying the long history of federal accountability in the United States, the modern Supreme Court has ushered in an era of increasingly absolute and unqualified immunity for federal officials.
Immunity and Accountability
Recalibrating Qualified Immunity: How Tanzin v. Tanvir, Taylor v. Riojas, and McCoy v. Alamu Signal the Supreme Court’s Discomfort with the Doctrine of Qualified Immunity
Recent decisions by the Supreme Court offer the strongest signal in decades that the Court is ready to recalibrate its qualified immunity jurisprudence.
Patrick's Amicus Briefs
Matthew Locke v. County of Hubbard
United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
J.W. v. Paley
United States Supreme Court
Tanvir v. Tanzin
2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Donald Logsdon, Jr. v. United States Marshal Service, et. al.
10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
The Gym 24/7 Fitness, LLC v. State of Michigan
Michigan Supreme Court
Long Lake Township v. Maxon
Michigan Supreme Court
Leuthauser v. USA
U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
Craig v. Martin
U.S. Court of the Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
People of the State of Michigan v. Travis Michael Johnson
Michigan Supreme Court
Egbert v. Boule
U.S. Supreme Court
J.W. v. Paley
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Cope v. Cogdill
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Thompson v. Clark
U.S. Supreme Court
Mitchell v. Morton County Sheriff
8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Jessop v. Fresno
Tanzin v. Tanvir
U.S. Supreme Court
Patrick's Legislation
Immunity and Accountability
Protecting Everyone’s Constitutional Rights Act–(Q.I. Reform)
This model bill guarantees that if citizens must follow the law, state and local government officials must follow the Constitution.
Immunity and Accountability
Protecting Everyone’s Constitutional Rights Ordinance
Qualified immunity is a judge-made doctrine that shields local, state and federal government officials–not just police–from accountability. In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court created the doctrine to ensure, in its words, it would be difficult…
Immunity and Accountability
State Court Remedies for Constitutional Violations by Federal Employees Act
State legislators’ most important responsibility is to protect rights under the laws and constitutions of the United States and their states. This responsibility includes providing a remedy of damages against government officials who violate those…