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@rahsaandhall, @Dan_McF & @segalmr have been sharing incredibly thoughtful posts on the many substantive problems with #QualifiedImmunity. Do yourself a favor & check them out.
This Thread tackles procedural problems w/QI, which, I believe, don't get nearly enough attention. 1/
This Thread tackles procedural problems w/QI, which, I believe, don't get nearly enough attention. 1/
In a civil case, the law gives defendants 2 chances to win w/out going to trial. They can file a motion to dismiss under Rule 12 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. If that doesn't work, they can file a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56. 2/
Responding to these motions - particularly motions for summary judgment - takes a ton of time & the stakes for plaintiffs couldn't be higher. If a judge allows a Rule 12 or 56 motion, the case is over & they never get a chance to tell their story to a jury. 3/
Typically, when a judge denies a Rule 12 or Rule 56 motion, the ruling only gets reviewed if the plaintiff prevails at trial & the defendant takes an appeal. This typical rule, which conserves scarce judicial resources, does not apply when the police invoke #QualifiedImmunity. 4/
Instead, the law gives police officers the right to pursue an interlocutory appeal, which cops almost always exercise. This causes everything to grind to a halt while an appellate court decides whether a trial judge erred by denying a Rule 12 or Rule 56 motion. 5/
Responding to an appeal is stressful & time-consuming both for victims of police brutality & their lawyers who generally don't do appellate work. It's not uncommon to spend many months in limbo waiting for a decision, even when the issues raised by the police are frivolous. 6/
Rather than court retaliation while reliving a traumatic experience in a seemingly never-ending process designed to keep the facts from fact-finders, many victims of police brutality choose not to file lawsuits. 7/
Others can't find attorneys. Based in large part on special QI procedural rules that require them to spend YEARS in costly litigation, many lawyers sympathetic to the victims of police brutality simply cant afford to represent them. 8/
In sum, many perpetrators of police violence never have to seek qualified immunity because of a process that severely restricts the pool of victims willing & able to hold cops accountable. END
