Players Coalition composes letter in support of ending qualified immunity for police, other governme

[Elderberry]

USA Today by Tom Schad 6/10/2020

Players Coalition composes letter in support of ending qualified immunity for police, other government officials

More than 1,400 current and former athletes, coaches and executives from major professional sports leagues signed a letter to members of Congress in support of a bill that would eliminate qualified immunity for government officials, including law enforcement.

The letter, which is dated Wednesday, was orchestrated and released by the Players Coalition, a group founded by NFL players in 2017 to address areas of social and racial inequality. It is signed by dozens of current and former stars from across the NFL, NBA and MLB — including quarterbacks Tom Brady and Dak Prescott, Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith and New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who drew backlash last week for comments he made about protests during the national anthem, also signed the letter.

More: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2020/06/10/players-coalition-nfl-qualified-immunity-police-george-floyd/5332722002/

[EdinVA]

Yea, we really need to listen to these idiots...

List of professional sportspeople convicted of crimes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_professional_sportspeople_convicted_of_crimes

[Elderberry]

Supreme Court Weighs Qualified Immunity For Police Accused Of Misconduct

NPR by Nina Totenberg 6/8/2020

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/08/870165744/supreme-court-weighs-qualified-immunity-for-police-accused-of-misconduct

At the U.S. Supreme Court, two justices — one on the right, the other on the left — have called for reexamining the qualified immunity doctrine.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, arguably the court's most liberal justice, has repeatedly dissented when her colleagues have excused police misconduct in police brutality cases. In one dissent, she said the court "displays an unflinching willingness" to reverse lower courts when they refuse to grant qualified immunity to police officers. In contrast, she said, the court "rarely intervenes" when lower courts wrongly grant qualified immunity to police officers. This "one-sided approach" transforms qualified immunity into "an absolute shield for law enforcement officers," she wrote.

Justice Clarence Thomas, the court's most conservative member, has also called for revisiting the doctrine of qualified immunity. He has written that the doctrine was simply invented by judges without any historical basis.

Similar unusual alliances have been formed by organizations that file briefs regularly at the court — from the conservative/libertarian Cato Institute and the Institute for Justice to the liberal ACLU and the NAACP.

There are currently eight qualified immunity cases now pending before the Supreme Court.

More at link.