Qualified immunity proposal moves closer to Ohio ballot

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The sixth time was the charm for a group trying to end qualified immunity in Ohio as a proposed constitutional amendment cleared a major hurdle. 

“Far too often in Ohio, people have our rights violated by our governments and we have no recourse,” Executive Director of the Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity Kyle Pierce said.    

“What it will do is just basically paralyze government,” Director of Government Affairs for the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio Michael Weinman said.    

Qualified immunity comes from a Supreme Court ruling decades ago that makes it so public officials like police officers, university employees or social workers cannot be taken to a civil court unless they violate a clearly established constitutional right, and the legal standards were clear enough that any reasonable official would know they were acting in an unlawful manner. 

Weinman said qualified immunity is a necessary protection for state employees like law enforcement and said the amendment would make recruitment difficult because officers will be worried about “frivolous lawsuits.”    

“You're going to take a step back and say, ‘Hey, look, is this something I really want to do if putting myself, my family, my home, my cars, you know, college funds in jeopardy because of some frivolous lawsuit,’” he said. 

The proposal would not require government employees to pay out of pocket for any civil case, but it would be the government employer, like a municipality or specific department, that would pick up the costs. 

“If they're not training their personnel and if they don't have protocols in place that respect our rights, then that's the problem with the government employer right there,” Pierce said. 

“If you're making those decisions within the scope of the law, you should be protected,” Weinman said. 

The proposed amendment eliminates proscutorial immunity. 

“There is no way to ever sue a prosecutor for anything they do in their capacity as prosecutor,” Pierce said. “They can lie. They can get witnesses to lie. They can withhold exculpatory evidence. They can prosecute people they know to be not guilty.”  

Pierce said the group is working to build a bi-partisan coalition. 

The group still needs approval by the ballot board, which must happen within the next nine days. After that, they can start collecting signatures.  

Pierce said the goal is to make it on the ballot this November, which means the group will need almost 500,000 signatures before July 1, 2025.