How the Police Became Untouchable
The Lawfare Podcast
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The Immediate Assumptions of the Court of Appeals in California
The court's assumption that these cops are pouring over the fine-grain distinctions of court of appeals decisions in their circuits and Supreme Court decisions is implausible. Officers could never learn all of the cases that might clearly establish the law. And even if they did, they couldn't remember them. The fact that force was not objectively reasonable is not enough to overcome qualified immunity. Instead, a plaintiff has to find a prior court decision where a similar kind of force was used in a similar circumstance.
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