Police Abuse

Minnesota Bills Would Create State Right To Sue Government Officials for Constitutional Violations

Two different pieces of legislation aim to create state workarounds to the procedural quagmire of federal civil rights litigation.

C.J. Ciaramella | 3.27.2026 2:58 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google

Media Contact & Reprint Requests

(Minnesota Department of Administration)

Bills moving through the Minnesota Legislature this session would create a state right to sue law enforcement officers and other government officials for constitutional violations.

The legislation comes amid allegations of wide-scale civil rights abuses by federal immigration officers deployed to the state by the Trump administration, but also the shocking case of a Minnesota police officer who fabricated evidence and lied under oath—only to be granted immunity from a civil suit filed in federal court by her victim.

One bill would create a "cause of action" in Minnesota's statutes for residents to sue government officials who violate their civil liberties. 

Another bill, the Minnesota Civil Remedies Act, would make government employees liable for violating or failing to intervene in the violation of someone's civil rights. It would go somewhat further than the cause of action bill and also not allow certain immunity defenses, such as "qualified immunity"—a legal doctrine that allows government employees to dodge lawsuits in cases where the right they're accused of violating hasn't been clearly established. 

Qualified immunity was supposed to protect officials who couldn't reasonably know they were violating someone's rights, but in practice it has become a time-consuming and frequently absurd legalistic........

© Reason.com