Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by yeetaccount4 1613 days ago
Saying something measured and reasonable doesn’t get anyone talking at all. Creating a contentious debate gets you press.

In reality, the single issue should have been around qualified immunity. Get rid of that and the ducks will fall into line.
2 comments
tehwebguy 1613 days ago
There are essentially 3 ways to get rid of qualified immunity:

1. constitutional amendment (3/4 of the states)

2. supreme court entirely throws it out (5 supreme court justices)

3. prosecutors (DAs, AGs & US Attorneys) chip away at it bit by bit

When a case comes before the supreme court they can essentially create a new set of circumstances that will no longer be qualified going forward. The problem with even making slow, incremental progress is that most prosecutors just don't seem to ever prosecute cops.

link
thereddaikon 1613 days ago
The problem is that you cannot expect an organization to effectively police itself. That's just a simple fact of life. Organizations will protect their own and refuse to admit wrongdoing until they are forced to by outside means. This is human nature. Prosecutors can't prosecute cops because they are part of the same system. The only way you hold the justice system accountable for miscarriage of justice is to have a completely separate body act as the check.

Might as well extend that to the other branches as well. Create a 4th branch of government who's only purpose and power is to jail members of the other branches who break the law since they can't be expected to police themselves and power corrupts all.

Kind of like how members of the military are subject to UCMJ courts. Civilian members of government should be subject to a court as well.

link
mlyle 1613 days ago
States can choose to make their personnel subject to lawsuits in defined circumstances.

Colorado, Connecticut, and New Mexico have done it --- e.g. https://lawandcrime.com/live-trials/live-trials-current/geor...

link
cuteboy19 1613 days ago
Wouldn't this result in increased polarization? For one side it would have the literal meaning and for the other it would have the sanewashed figurative meaning.
link