Cognizant of the powerful forces shaping public discourse, the Thomson Reuters Institute is pleased to produce an ongoing thought leadership spotlight on race relations, ideological division, and law enforcement reform during a seminal moment in modern society. Our aim is to bring together perspectives from key influencers and power brokers across academic, practitioner, and regulatory quarters for a series of cordial and earnest dialogues around social upheaval and transformation.
Recent events have cast a national spotlight on qualified immunity and law enforcement. Across the political spectrum, perspectives on the justification for or argument against qualified immunity continue to foster debate, with elected officials at both a national and municipal level weighing controversial legislation to hold law enforcement personnel more accountable than ever. This conversation offers a nuanced look at the fate of qualified immunity today. On the heels of the recent United States Supreme Court opinions (Zadeh v. Robinson, Corbitt v. Vickers, and Baxter v. Bracey) that acknowledge clear constitutional violations at the hands of law enforcement personnel but stop well short of reconsidering qualified immunity altogether, will the rising tide of legislative scrutiny ultimately sink or buoy qualified immunity as we know it?