End Qualified Immunity

Qualified immunity is a court-made rule that ends lawsuits against officials who violate constitutional rights unless an earlier ruling covered similar facts.

A letter to your members of Congress. Facts checked September 24, 2026.

The explainer behind this letter Qualified Immunity Why it's so hard to sue officials who violate your rights

The Letter

Subject Co-Sponsor the Ending Qualified Immunity Act

When a government official violates your constitutional rights, you should be able to take them to court. Qualified immunity, a rule the Supreme Court created in 1967, often closes that door. Unless an earlier ruling found a violation in similar circumstances, the case is dismissed, even when judges agree the conduct was wrong.

In Fresno, officers were accused of stealing more than $225,000 in cash and rare coins they had seized under a warrant. The appeals court called theft morally wrong and granted them immunity anyway.

The 1871 civil rights law says officials who violate rights "shall be liable." It says nothing about immunity. Local governments already pay nearly all police civil rights judgments, so ending the doctrine helps victims without bankrupting officers.

Please co-sponsor the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, H.R. 3602 in the House and S. 1913 in the Senate.

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U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

I'm calling to ask the member to co-sponsor the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, H.R. 3602 in the House and S. 1913 in the Senate.
Qualified immunity is a court-made rule that ends lawsuits against officials unless an earlier ruling covered similar facts, even when judges agree a right was violated.
Fresno officers accused of stealing more than 225,000 dollars they had seized under a warrant were granted immunity.
Local governments already pay nearly all police civil rights judgments, so ending it helps victims without bankrupting officers.

Calls get logged by topic. Volume drives the briefing.

The Facts Behind the Ask

~$225,000 in cash and coins Fresno officers were accused of stealing after seizing it under a warrant; the Ninth Circuit granted immunity (source)
99.98% of dollars won in police civil rights suits were paid by governments, not officers (NYU Law Review, 2014) (source)
63% of Americans favored eliminating qualified immunity for police (Cato Institute and YouGov, 2020) (source)

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