From Reason and the Volokh Conspiracy comes word that the Cato Institute is starting a new civil rights and police accountability initiative.

https://reason.com/volokh/2018/03/07/the-cato-institutes-new-civil-rightspoli

Qualified immunity is one of those things that make it hard to reform the criminal justice system. I’m even more incensed since learning that it was more or less invented out of legal whole cloth.

Police and prosecutors are supposed to be just like everyone else under the color of law. It’s why they don’t have special tribunals like the military. Hell, I’d be happier with special tribunals if I thought it would make them be held to a higher standard. With great power…

I’m really liking the idea of cops and prosecutors being required to buy and hold personal indemnification policies, like doctors or other professions. I don’t like the fact that I have to pay to protect bad apples from the consequences of their actions. Insurance companies are really good at quantifying risk. It would be interesting to see what they would do with that pool.