May 10
US courts have been heavily relying on a 50-year-old legal loophole to shield cops from misconduct allegations, an investigation claims. It allows officers to avoid prosecution even when their conduct is deemed unlawful.
The share of civil rights cases, in which courts resort to a controversial legal doctrine to shield officers from allegations of using excessive force, has been increasing in recent years, The report draws on data from 529 federal circuit court rulings published between 2005 and 2019 on appeals in the lawsuits where so-called “qualified immunity” was invoked in a bid to protect police.
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