Eliminates qualified immunity and sovereign immunity in certain cases.
New Jersey Assembly Bill A850 would eliminate qualified immunity and sovereign immunity as defenses in civil rights lawsuits against law enforcement officers and public entities under the state's Civil Rights Act. This means officers and government bodies (like police departments or municipalities) can no longer avoid liability by claiming they acted in good faith or that constitutional rights were unclear at the time of the alleged violation. The bill specifically applies to claims involving false arrest, false imprisonment, or unjustified use of force - already prohibited under New Jersey law. It does not eliminate other forms of immunity (such as judicial immunity) or affect the requirement for public employees to act in good faith in non-civil rights cases.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2024
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 9, 2024
Last action Jan 9, 2024
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
1
Key actions
0
Committee
0
Jan 9, 2024
Introduced
Introduced in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
DDemocratic
Ask Maddy
·
AI policy assistant
Ask Maddy about A 850
Scope: NJ
Hi! I can help you understand A 850. What would you like to know?
Try one of these
i
Maddy answers using official bill text and legislative records. Always verify before sharing.
Sources cited inline