The Yale Law Journal

Qualified Immunity

Forum

Backdoor Municipal Immunity

Joanna C. Schwartz

Although local governments aren’t entitled to qualified immunity, four circuits have held that granting an officer qualified immunity dooms a failure-to-train claim against their employer. This “backdoor municipal immunity” misunderstands the role that court decisions actually play in police policie…

Article

How Qualified Immunity Fails

Joanna C. Schwartz

This Article reports the findings of the largest and most comprehensive study to date of the role qualified immunity plays in constitutional litigation. I found that qualified immunity rarely served its intended role as a shield from discovery and trial in these cases.

Article

What Kind of Immunity? Federal Officers, State Criminal Law, and the Supremacy Clause

Seth P. Waxman & Trevor W. Morrison

112 Yale L.J. 1943 (2003)

When, if ever, may a State prosecute a federal officer for violating state criminal law while discharging his federal duties? Over the past decade, developments in the doctrines associated with "federalism" have redefined the constitutional status of federal attempts to regu…