Thanks to a terrific opinion by Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski. Kozinksi dispensed with the immunity claims of officers who violently invaded a woman’s home, subdued her at gunpoint, and terrorized her.

The best part is Kozinski’s final footnote:

Defendants and their counsel shall show cause within 14 days why they should not be assessed double costs and attorney’s fees for filing a frivolous appeal.

There needs to be more of this. It’s particularly nice to see it coming from an influential judge who is generally embraced by the right.

A few months ago, I attended the annual Federalist Society luncheon where D.C.’s conservative legal minds gather for an irreverent review of the previous Supreme Court term. This year’s keyonte was former Bush administration solicitor general Ted Olsen. One of the principles Olsen said we could count on new justices Alito and Roberts upholding was a reliable “deference to our law enforcement officers.”

I’ve never understood why this is considered a conservative principle. Why would a philosophy that claims a healthy mistrust of government defer to those agents of the government who are least accountable, and in that they’re permitted to use deadly force on citizens, most in need of oversight?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 at 12:43 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Police Militarization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.