[Un]Qualified Immunity

The perpetual incidents of police violence against Black Americans have once again breathed new life into the debate about the propriety of the Qualified Immunity doctrine--a court-manufactured shield that effectively bars claims against officers for the constitutional violations they visit upon civilians.

This virtual lunch talk with Judge Carlton Reeves of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi will explore the origins and operations of the doctrine of Qualified Immunity as detailed in Judge Reeves' recent opinion in Jamison v. McClendon.

In conversation with ACS chapter co-President Damonta Morgan, and CLS Lecturer-in-Law Alexis Hoag, Judge Reeves will expand upon his call to have the Supreme Court abandon the controversial doctrine as well as think through non-judicial fixes for the doctrine. This event is being co-sponsored by the Black Law Students Association and the Criminal Justice Action Network at Columbia Law School.