Two legal experts will discuss what happens when law enforcement officers and departments are taken to court when misconduct is alleged when the next Conversations on Race and Policing takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

“Suing the Police and Qualified Immunity,” presented by Cal State San Bernardino’s John M. Pfau Library, will take place at 4 p.m. on Zoom, and can be accessed from a PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android at https://csusb.zoom.us/j/97960458784.

Panelists will be:

  • Joanna Schwartz, professor of law at UCLA School of Law. She teaches civil procedure and a variety of courses on police accountability and public interest lawyering. She received UCLA’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2015, and served as vice dean for faculty development from 2017- 2019.
  • Amir H. Ali, deputy director of the Supreme Court and Appellate Program at the MacArthur Justice Center, and oversees the organization’s Washington, D.C., office. He also directs the Criminal Justice Appellate Clinic at Harvard Law School.

In this panel discussion, Schwartz and Ali will share their expertise on police misconduct and accountability, qualified immunity doctrine, suing the police, and related issues.

Conversations on Race and Policing began in the aftermath of the May 25 death of George Floyd while in the custody of four Minneapolis, Minn., police officers. A video of the incident posted on social media has led to widespread protests, the firing of four police officers, the arrest of one officer on a second-degree murder charge, the other three on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder – and a spotlight worldwide on race and policing.

Previous forums also are posted online (more recordings will soon be available for viewing) on the CSUSB History Club Lecture Series YouTube channel.

The ongoing Conversations on Race and Policing series is hosted by CSUSB students Marlo Brooks and Yvette Relles-Powell.

The series is organized by Brooks and Relles-Powell, CSUSB faculty members Mary Texeira (sociology) and Jeremy Murray (history), Robie Madrigal, public affairs/communication specialist for the Pfau Library, and community member Stan Futch, president of the Westside Action Group.  

Upcoming Conversations on Race and Policing include “Sundown Towns: Confronting a Racially Exclusionary Practice,” at 4 p.m. on Dec. 9 on Zoom.

For more information, contact Robie Madrigal at rmadriga@csusb.edu or Jeremy Murray at jmurray@csusb.edu.

Conversations on Race and Policing, Dec. 2 event flier