You should have a right to sue federal agents
Today we have a several columns about qualified immunity, including a new editorial. We also have a piece about the First Amendment. Can you name all five rights it guarantees?
Supreme Court case: You should have a right to sue federal agents
By The Editorial Board
Qualified immunity makes it difficult to win civil damages against local and state police. It’s even tougher to sue any of the approximately 130,000 federal agents working for the FBI, Homeland Security and other agencies.
A 1988 law prohibits suing federal police in state courts. And while the Supreme Court created an avenue to sue in federal court in 1971, that ruling has been weakened so much in recent years by a more conservative Supreme Court that it is almost meaningless in some of the nation’s 12 federal circuits.
Today's Editorial Cartoon
Too few Americans know their First Amendment rights. That must change.
By Jan Neuharth
Saturday, Sept. 25, is First Amendment Day, a day to celebrate the document that allows all Americans – without government interference – to practice a faith or not, speak freely, publish ideas, gather in support or protest, and petition the government for change. It marks the day in 1789 when Congress sent the amendments that became the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights to the states for approval.
To salute the occasion, the Freedom Forum – an organization devoted to fostering First Amendment freedoms for all – will release a survey conducted in July and August 2020 when we asked more than 3,000 Americans how they feel about the First Amendment today. Our respondents came from every corner of the country and spanned age, gender, race and economic background – a true representation of our diverse nation.
I'm a 30-year teacher. But even I ask: Who would want this job?
By Larry Strauss
Who wants to be a teacher?
Anyone got a math degree you aren’t using at the moment? I’m serious. The school where I teach now has two unfilled teaching positions and zero prospects.
A school a few blocks from ours is more than a dozen teachers short. So is another high school a few miles away.
Two of my former principals have tried to lure me to their schools; I helped my current principal steal a teacher from another school. Teachers I know on other campuses are teaching extra classes and doing double duty outside the classroom instead of eating lunch or going to the bathroom, trying to make up for staff shortages.
Other columns to read
- As COVID-19 surges, emptying prisons and jails vital to public health
- The GOP's new big lie? That there's a puppeteer at the White House.
- Trump will continue to inspire violence and protests from Republicans
- It's OK to want justice for Gabby Petito and acknowledge the thousands still missing.
This column was compiled by Jaden Amos.