Trial Magazine

For eight minutes and 46 seconds, people watched the video of George Floyd’s heinous killing at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. It struck an all-too-familiar chord when viewers heard that fateful plea: “I can’t breathe.” Floyd was not alone—along with Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and other recent victims, countless innocent lives have been taken due to local, state, and federal law enforcement policies that lack basic transparency and accountability.

In response to public outrage, both the House and Senate introduced police reform bills in June. Two comprehensive bills are in play: the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (GFJPA) (H.R. 7120), and the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act (S. 3985).

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. On June 8, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) introduced the first comprehensive approach to police reform. This important legislation would 

• eliminate the judicially created doctrine of qualified immunity for law enforcement, which allows officers to violate civil rights with impunity
• establish a national police misconduct registry to track complaints filed against officers
• increase transparency by requiring federal officers to use body and dashboard cameras
• amend the mens rea requirement under 18 U.S.C. §242 from a “willfulness” to a “reckless” standard, enabling federal prosecutors to hold law enforcement accountable for criminal civil rights violations
• ban chokeholds for federal officers and require such bans in state and local police departments before they can receive federal grants.

The GFJPA would add language to §1983 to eliminate the doctrine of qualified immunity when law enforcement officers violate constitutional rights.  The bill also contains key provisions about the use and retention of body and dashboard camera videos, which often play a key evidentiary role in criminal and civil proceedings.

More than 450 national organizations, including AAJ, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the American Federation of Teachers, the Constitutional Accountability Center, and the NAACP, applauded Congress’s swift action in introducing the GFJPA to address systemic racism in policing.

On June 9, the House Judiciary Committee considered the GFJPA during a hearing on policing reform. AAJ member Ben Crump, who represents the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, was one of many witnesses who testified on the need for policing reform, including the importance of ending qualified immunity and banning chokeholds. His client, Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, provided the most compelling testimony about the need for immediate reform.

JUSTICE Act. While the GFJPA was well-received and supported by many organizations, there was disagreement over provisions regarding qualified immunity, no-knock warrants, and funding of state and local law enforcement. In response, Senate Republicans unveiled the JUSTICE Act. AAJ and a coalition of civil rights and labor organizations oppose the JUSTICE Act because it falls short of delivering meaningful reform. It fails to include any mention of qualified immunity—a priority for AAJ—does not amend the mens rea requirement, lacks a robust misconduct registry, and fails to mandate officer use of dash cameras.

The path forward. On June 25, the GFJPA passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 236-181, and it has been sent to the Senate where it awaits further action. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have opposed a motion to proceed on the JUSTICE Act, effectively blocking the legislation from being debated on the Senate floor. These recent votes suggest that any path forward will require members of Congress to put aside their party affiliation and prioritize the lives of their constituents.

AAJ will continue to work with its Police Misconduct Litigation Group and Civil Rights Section in the months ahead to craft and push for legislation to end qualified immunity and improve policing for communities. For more information and to share your ideas for policing reform, contact me (earl.flood@justice.org) or Senior Director of Policy and Senior Counsel Susan Steinman (susan.steinman@justice.org).

Earl Flood is AAJ’s federal relations counsel and can be reached at earl.flood@justice.org. To contact AAJ Public Affairs, email advocacy@justice.org.