Brown Undergraduate Law Review — Vol. 2 No. 2 (Spring 2021)

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THE LEGAL PRECEDENTS FOR POLICE BRUTALITY: THE ENDURING LEGACY OF THE OBJECTIVE REASONABLENESS STANDARD Deepak Gupta ABSTRACT As cases of police brutality continue to plague the criminal justice system, it is important to understand the legal precedents and history that have allowed this issue to continue. After studying the modern applications of landmark Supreme Court cases, we can conclude that the objective reasonableness standard established in Graham v. Connor (1989) has played a major role in allowing police to perpetrate acts of violence without consequence in Section 1983 litigation. This particular precedent has resulted in the vast majority of police brutality cases being analyzed under the Fourth Amendment. Most notably, courts are prevented from considering the intentions of the offending officers and instead focus solely on officers?decisions in ?split-second? situations. Therefore, this method fails to accurately capture the role of implicit bias in policing. In order to ensure a fair future for the prosecution of police officers, courts should instead rely on the Fourteenth Amendment?s Equal Protection Clause. Brown Undergraduate Law Review 46
The Legal Precedents for Police Brutality: The Enduring Legacy of the Objective Reasonableness Standard Introduction George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Eric Garner? these are just a few of the names that have become memorialized in a country that grapples with an epidemic of police brutality. With the expansion of the Black Lives Matter movement this past summer, the United States must now confront greater calls than ever before to reform the carceral state and nature of policing. To understand the system that allows police brutality to occur and propose solutions, one must analyze the essential legal precedents that protect police officers from facing the consequences of gross miscarriages of justice. In this paper, I will argue that the objective reasonableness standard established in Graham v. Connor (1989) has played a major role in allowing police to perpetrate acts of violence without ramifications in Section 1983 litigation. Moreover, the consolidation of most police A Brief History of 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 and Qualified Immunity To understand the legal framework behind police brutality, it is first necessary to understand 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. After the Civil War, testimonies of atrocities committed against African Americans in the South alarmed President Ulysses S. Grant and other Republicans. 1 Thus, they passed the Civil Rights Act of 1871 (otherwise known as the Ku Klux Klan Act) and included 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 so that those targeted for their identity could claim a civil cause of action against the liable party. 2 Litigation under Section 1983 allows individuals to sue state government employees and other officials for civil rights violations and enforces Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, preventing any state from engaging in the deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process or equal protection of the law. 3 brutality cases under Fourth Amendment analysis fails to Not many lawsuits were filed under Section 1983 until the accurately capture the role of implicit bias, which would be 1960s. This change occurred as a result of Monroe v. Pape better addressed under the Fourteenth Amendment?s Equal (1961), a case regarding thirteen Chicago police officers Protection Clause. who searched the wrong home without a warrant. The First, I will review the history of 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, qualified immunity, and the objective reasonableness standard established by Graham v. Connor. Then, I will explore the effects of legal precedent on modern cases involving excessive force by police. Finally, I conclude by Supreme Court upheld the respondent?s lawsuit and determined that authorities acting ?under color of? state authority can be held personally liable through Section 1983. 4 Subsequent cases advanced the applications of Section 1983. Monell v. Department of Social Services underscoring the importance of the Fourteenth (1978) determined that municipalities and local Amendment in allowing for advocates and policymakers to succeed in reforming this corrupted system. governmental units may be sued if their policies are in clear violation of an individual?s rights. 5 Together, Monroe and Monell played instrumental roles in allowing for claims of excessive force against police departments to fall under Section 1983 litigation. 1. ?The Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871,? United States Senate, June 5, 2020, https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/ EnforcementActs.htm. 2. Ibid. 3. ?A Section 1983 Primer (1): History, Purposes and Scope,? Nahmod Law, November 7, 2009, https://nahmodlaw.com/2009/10/29/a-section-1983- primer-1-history-purposes-and-scope/. 4. Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167 (1961). 5. Schools Legal Services Staff of the Orange County Department of Education,?Liability Under Section 1983,? (legal document, Orange County Department of Education, 2003), 2. Brown Undergraduate Law Review 47
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Page 5 and 6: A Letter from the Editors ?current?
Page 7 and 8: THE FAILURE OF THE TREATMENT OF LOW
Page 9 and 10: The Failure of the Treatment of Low
Page 21 and 22: TARGETING MUSLIMS AND CIVIL LIBERTI
Page 23 and 24: Targeting Muslims and Civil Liberti
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Page 55 and 56: The Future of the Fourteenth Amendm
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