Trials & Litigation
Regulation college students demand loophole shielding federal officers from civil fits ought to be closed
U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino walks by a Goal retailer Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Picture by Adam Grey/The Related Press)
A coalition of legislation college students, legislation pupil organizations and authorized teachers from 115 legislation faculties has collected greater than 2,765 signatures demanding that the U.S. Congress move the Federal Officer Accountability Act.
In response to the Nation, the group was launched by college students on the College of California at Berkeley College of Regulation. They have been impressed by an opinion piece in the New York Times written by Erwin Chemerinsky, the legislation college’s dean and an ABA Journal contributor, and Burt Neuborne, a professor emeritus on the New York College College of Regulation.
Chemerinsky and Neuborne mentioned how Congress should shut a loophole within the federal legislation permits civil lawsuits towards federal officers, resembling these from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement involved in recent killings of residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
At present, these households have primarily no civil treatment towards the person officers, in keeping with Above the Law, and even state courts are restricted as a result of federal brokers can mechanically take away to federal court docket.
Part 1983 of the Civil Rights Act has allowed folks to sue state and native officers for constitutional violations since 1871, and the scholars’ proposed textual content for the Federal Officer Accountability Act mirrors its language, extending it to these appearing beneath the authority of federal legislation, in keeping with Above the Regulation.
Moreover, the proposal consists of that officers discovered to have used extreme pressure can’t be shielded by certified immunity.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
