S. 3415 · 117th Congress
Constitutional Accountability Act
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 117th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
WhitehouseSponsorNo cosponsors.
This bill extends civil liability to federal, state, and local government entities and officials for constitutional violations committed by law enforcement officers.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Dec 16, 2021
Constitutional Accountability Act
This bill extends civil liability to federal, state, and local government entities and officials for constitutional violations committed by law enforcement officers.
Current law provides a statutory civil cause of action against state and local government actors (e.g., law enforcement) for violations of constitutional rights (also known as Section 1983 lawsuits); the Supreme Court has also found an implied cause of action against federal law enforcement officers in certain situations (e.g., Fourth Amendment violations).
However, under the judicial doctrine of qualified immunity, government officials performing discretionary duties are generally shielded from civil liability except when their actions violate clearly established rights of which a reasonable person would have known. Additionally, under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, federal and state government entities generally cannot be sued without their consent. Further, the Supreme Court has held that a local government entity cannot be sued for an injury inflicted by its employees.
The bill provides a statutory civil cause of action against and extends liability to federal, state, and local government entities and officials for violations of constitutional rights committed by law enforcement officers in their employment, regardless of any immunity that would otherwise apply.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Constitutional Accountability Act
Latest action (Dec 16, 2021): Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Dec 16, 2021
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.