Opening Arguments

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,