For 38 years following the Supreme Court’s 1982 Harlow v. Fitzgerald decision, no state legislature explicitly modified or rejected the federal “clearly established” standard for qualified immunity in civil rights actions. But since 2020, following the death of George Floyd, numerous states have moved to narrow – and some to expand – the broad protections conferred by that decision.
This article provides an overview of state actions on qualified immunity since 2020. Find a basic primer on qualified immunity here.
What is qualified immunity?
Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine under federal law that protects government officials from personal liability for monetary damages in civil lawsuits alleging violations of constitutional or statutory rights unless those rights were “clearly established” at the time of their actions. Qualified immunity applies only to civil claims – typically those filed under federal civil rights statutes like 42 U.S.C. § 1983 – and does not provide immunity from criminal charges.
What are other types of immunity that government officials can receive?
Qualified immunity may be confused with other kinds of immunity, such as sovereign or official (“common law”) immunity.
Sovereign immunity protects sovereign entities: the United States as a whole, individual states, tribal nations and some subdivisions. Courts may not hear claims against them unless the sovereign consents.
Official immunity protects individual state and local officials acting under state tort law. It bars liability for discretionary acts that call for independent judgments unless acts were ministerial (prescribed by law) or malicious and willful. In most states this is a function of common law and only sometimes codified. It’s been articulated by state supreme courts to prevent protracted lawsuits around policy decisions.
Prosecutorial immunity is a judicially created doctrine that protects prosecutors from civil liability if they are sued for actions taken in the course of their official duties.
Why have some states chosen to modify the federal standard for qualified immunity for law enforcement?
Since 2020, several states have chosen to modify or reject the federal standard for qualified immunity due to concerns about its breadth and the perception that it shields police from accountability for misconduct and violations of civil rights. Their reasons include:
- Accountability and transparency: Critics argue that qualified immunity often shields law enforcement from accountability, making it difficult to successfully sue officers even for seemingly clear misconduct.
- Public pressure: High-profile incidents such as the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have significantly heightened public attention and prompted widespread calls for reforming qualified immunity.
- Civil rights protections: Advocates for reform emphasize that qualified immunity frequently denies justice to victims of police misconduct because courts require previous cases with nearly identical facts to establish a precedent.
- Restoring public trust: Lawmakers hope that increasing legal accountability will rebuild trust between law enforcement and communities historically affected by overpolicing, discrimination and excessive force.
What have states done about it?
Several states have passed legislation creating state-level civil rights causes of action that explicitly exclude or limit federal qualified immunity standards, allowing plaintiffs to bring suits in state courts where officers can’t rely on federal QI defenses.
Conversely, other states responded to the post-2020 policing debates by passing laws that expand qualified immunity protections for law enforcement, often codifying or enhancing federal qualified immunity standards within state law.
What states have acted legislatively to limit qualified immunity at the state level?
As of May 2025, here are the states that have acted legislatively to reduce qualified immunity protections. These moves impact claims under state law but do not limit the use of qualified immunity in federal court or claims under federal law.
- California: California has taken significant steps since 2020 to narrow qualified immunity protections for police and increase accountability for misconduct. SB 2, passed in 2021, removed certain immunities that previously protected officers under the Bane Act – which forbids interference with constitutional rights by force or threat – from civil suits, and enabled decertification for misconduct. However, SB 2 did not create a new state-level cause of action, and plaintiffs would still sue under existing laws.
- Colorado: With SB 217 in 2020, Colorado became the first state to eliminate qualified immunity for state claims following the death of George Floyd by creating a state civil action for constitutional violations and barring qualified immunity as a defense. Officers may be held personally liable for up to $25,000 for constitutional violations if they acted in bad faith.
- Connecticut: Connecticut’s 2020 Police Accountability Act allows individuals to sue police officers in state courts for violations of state rights. Officers aren’t immune unless they had an “objectively good faith belief” that their conduct was lawful. This “good faith” standard is narrower than federal qualified immunity (which requires a “clearly established” right).
- District of Columbia: In 2021 the D.C. Council passed the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Emergency Amendment Act, part of which temporarily eliminated qualified immunity as a defense for officers in local civil suits as part of emergency police reforms. That change was made permanent in the 2022 Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act passed by Congress. This change only impacts Metro Police.
- Massachusetts: A comprehensive police reform law enacted in 2020 modified qualified immunity for law enforcement by prohibiting officers from claiming it in civil lawsuits if their actions led to decertification by the state’s newly established Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POSTC). However, the Massachusetts legislature rejected broader qualified immunity repeal proposals in 2021.
- New Mexico: The 2021 New Mexico Civil Rights Act eliminated qualified immunity as a defense in civil rights lawsuits brought under the New Mexico Constitution. This made New Mexico the second state in the U.S. to remove this legal shield, following Colorado. The law caps damages at $2 million per claim.
- Ohio: A constitutional amendment to end qualified immunity can qualify for the November 2025 ballot if organizers can collect approximately 413,000 signatures by July 2. It would remove qualified immunity, sovereign immunity, prosecutorial immunity and all statutory immunities as civil defenses for government employees but also ensure that only government employers, not individual employees, would bear financial responsibility for damages. Note, this is still pending ballot and voter approval.
Additionally, at the municipal level, while state-level attempts to reform qualified immunity in New York have not been successful, the New York City Council in 2021 passed a law that effectively eliminated qualified immunity as a defense for NYPD officers in specific civil rights claims in NYC. It allows individuals to sue NYPD officers directly for alleged violations of their rights. This is a city ordinance, however, and QI still exists in New York state law and for state officials.
What states have acted judicially to limit qualified immunity at the state level?
As of May 2025, here are the states that have limited or otherwise addressed qualified immunity through judicial decisions. These moves may impact claims under state law but do not limit the use of qualified immunity in federal court or claims under federal law.
- California: In 2023 the California Supreme Court (in Leon v. County of Riverside) reaffirmed that the state law does not provide immunity for police misconduct under state tort law for acts committed during investigations.
- Nevada: In the 2022 case Mack v. Williams, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled individuals could sue government officials – including law enforcement officers – for violations of certain rights under the Nevada Constitution, and federal qualified immunity would not apply.
While it happened long before 2020, in 2002 the Montana Supreme Court, in Dorwart v. Caraway, eliminated qualified immunity as a defense in state court suits claiming violations of state constitutional rights. Such cases can proceed even absent a previous case with “almost identical” facts.
What states have acted to expand or reinforce the qualified immunity doctrine at the state level?
States that have acted to expand or reinforce qualified immunity protections since 2020 are:
- Alabama: Alabama recently voted to expand QI protections for police with the 2025 “Back the Blue Protection Act.” It narrows the circumstances under which officers can be held liable to cases where they act recklessly or violate constitutional rights and require a judge to determine whether an officer acted within the scope of their duties before a case proceeds to trial.
- Iowa: Iowa codified qualified immunity protections for law enforcement with its 2021 “Back the Blue” Act, which brought the “clearly established” standard to state law.
- Louisiana: Louisiana’s 2024 House Bill 2 expanded qualified immunity for law enforcement officers. It eliminated negligence as an exception to qualified immunity – plaintiffs now must prove an officer’s actions were criminal, fraudulent or intentional misconduct to be able to sue.
What states have not modified the qualified immunity doctrine at the state level?
States that have not made changes to qualified immunity – though in some cases legislative attempts were made but failed – include:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
