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Supreme Court declines to hear case on qualified immunity for police officers

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal for a lawsuit brought against Cleveland police officers that challenges the scope of qualified immunity, the legal doctrine which has been used to shield officers from lawsuits alleging excessive force, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: The doctrine has been the subject of scrutiny from civil rights advocates. Eliminating qualified immunity was one of the key demands of demonstrators during nationwide protests in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd.


Details: Shase Howse said that he was slammed to the ground by police and arrested while trying to enter his own home in August 2016, per the NAACP Cleveland Branch. Howse, who is Black, was 20 at the time.

  • An Ohio-based appeals court granted immunity to the officers in the case, arguing that there was no "clearly established" precedent to deem their actions illegal, per Reuters.

Our thought bubble, via Axios' race and justice reporter Russell Contreras: The Supreme Court ruling won't stop advocates who plan on pushing for states to change their qualified immunity laws for officers.

  • proposal in New Mexico, for example, seeks to eliminate qualified immunity for officers accused of violating someone's constitutional rights.

Worth noting: The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed by the House last week would overhaul qualified immunity for officers. It would also ban chokeholds at the federal level, prohibit no-knock warrants in federal drug cases, and outlaw racial profiling.

  • The bill, which is opposed by most Republicans, is less likely to clear the divided Senate.

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Trump to sue Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter's Jack Dorsey

Former President Donald Trump, who has complained about censorship by social media giants, plans to announce class action lawsuits today against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: It's the latest escalation in Trump's years-long battle with Twitter and Facebook over free speech and censorship. Trump is completely banned from Twitter and is banned from Facebook for another two years.

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Australia's 2nd-most populous state to lock down after COVID spike

Victoria, Australia's second-most populous state, will enter a five-day lockdown just before midnight to combat a growing COVID-19 outbreak, officials announced on Thursday.

Why it matters: It will be the fifth time such restrictions have been imposed on residents in Victoria's state capital, Melbourne — who last year endured one of the world's longest lockdowns (112 days), when Melbourne was Australia's pandemic epicenter.

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