Massachusetts State House.
HYANNIS – A 15-member special legislative commission will investigate the impacts of the qualified immunity doctrine in Massachusetts.
The commission, which includes State Representative Steven Xiarhos (R-West Barnstable), will look into the origins of qualified immunity and how it is currently interpreted by the state’s courts.
The qualified immunity doctrine dates back to a 1967 US Supreme Court case, and protects police officers and other government officials from being subject to civil suits for actions taken when discharging their official duties, unless it can be shown that their actions violated clearly established statutory or constitutional rights, said Xiarhos in a statement.
Xiarhos said that the doctrine is designed to protect public officials from frivolous lawsuits when acting in good faith.
The commission is led by the House and Senate chairs of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, State Representative Michael Day (D-Stoneham) and State Senator Jamie Eldredge (D-Acton), and will also include a member of the police officers’ union, a member of the firefighters’ union and a retired justice of the appeals court.
The commission also includes the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Inc.; the president of the Massachusetts Bar Association; the executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc.; and the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People New England Area Conference.
The commission will file its report on its findings and recommendations for legislation by September 30.
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