Bill > A3278

Introduced Session

This bill places certain restrictions on the qualified immunity doctrine which shields public employees, including law enforcement officers, from civil liability. Under the qualified immunity doctrine, public employees are immune from civil liability when their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. In determining whether a public employee is entitled to qualified immunity, a court is required to inquire whether: (1) the facts, taken in the light most favorable to the party asserting the injury, show the public employee's conduct violated a constitutional right; and (2) that constitutional right was clearly established at the time that the defendant acted. This bill places the burden on public employees or employers in a cause of action for violations of the "New Jersey Civil Rights Act" and the unjustified use of force or deadly force to demonstrate that the public employee or employer did not violate a clearly established constitutional or statutory right. In addition, the bill provides that public employees and employers are not immune from civil liability for unjustified use of force or deadly force or violations of the use of force guidelines for law enforcement officers promulgated by the Attorney General. The bill prohibits public employees and employers from invoking a defense that the plaintiff's rights, privileges, or immunities were not clearly established at the time of their deprivation in causes of action for unjustified use of force or violations of the "New Jersey Civil Rights Act."

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document