The Complicated Web of Immunities That Makes Accountability So Difficult, Part 2

Part 2 of 2.

OA 1230 - Seeing all the obstacles to holding government officials accountable, Congress created Section 1983, allowing citizens to sue for money damages for violations of their civil rights. We cover how that works, the one weird trick it uses to get around state sovereign immunity, and how that accidentally created the infamous qualified immunity doctrine that has made police seemingly unaccountable. We also discuss proposed reforms that might fix issues of qualified and sovereign immunity.

• 42 U.S.C § 1983

• Pierson v Ray, 386 U.S. 547 (1967)

• Graham v Conner, 490 U.S. 386 (1989)

• Pearson v Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (2009)

• Kisela v Hughes, 584 U.S. 100 (2018)

• Barnes v Felix, 605 U.S. 73 (2025)

• Barnes v Felix, 138 Harvard L. Rev. 291 (2025).

• Julia Yoo, The Problem with Policing in the United States, ADVOCATE (Feb. 2021).

• David J. Ignall, Making Sense of Qualified Immunity: Summary Judgment and Issues for the Trier of Fact, 30 Cal. W. L. Rev. 201 (1994). (NOTE: Good review for basics, but note the date!)

• Bivens v. Six Unknown-Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971)

• Egbert v Boule, 596 U.S. 482 (2022)

• S. 122 Qualified Immunity Act of 2025 119th Cong. (2025)

• S. 3186 Constitutional Accountability Act 119th Congr. (2025)

• H.R. 6091 Bivens Act of 2025 119th Congr. (2025)

• H.R. 4944 Ending Qualified Immunity for ICE Agents Act 119th Congr. (2025)

• Qualified Immunity Abolition Act of 2026 (no bill number assigned yet)

  • Gelinas, S. (2026, January 18). Markey, Pressley renew push to end qualified immunity after ICE shooting death. Athol Daily News.

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