A nonprofit civil-rights law firm. We work nationwide to hold police and other agents of the state accountable. https://pubaccountability.org/https://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.orghttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3m5d4ockeek2rApril Fonseca tried to report on the eviction of a homeless camp. Medford officers arrested her—and strip-searched her. Clear-cut? We think so. But when the district court denied qualified immunity, the officers sought an immediate appeal. We told the Ninth Circuit they should pound sand.11 Nov 2025 02:46 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5d4ockeek2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3m47qxk45kk2wHUGE congratulations to our staff attorney, @sara-rosenburg.bsky.social, for filing her first brief! There's lots here—appellate jurisdiction, Eighth Amendment rights, qualified immunity, and a very juicy request for sanctions. Check out the brief at our case page, pubaccountability.org/tyree!28 Oct 2025 01:13 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3m47qxk45kk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3lz2b74e6e22wOur ED’s got memes y’all [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Sep 2025 16:32 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3lz2b74e6e22whttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3lunpg3sq3c27We’re a small shop, but we’re mighty. Help us keep bringing the fight to qualified immunity: pubaccountability.org/donate [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Jul 2025 19:02 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3lunpg3sq3c27https://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3lfv4wuekyk2x"Our victory in Fagon preserves an important boundary: Interlocutory appeals of qualified-immunity denials must be limited to purely legal arguments—or risk being dismissed outright." [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Jan 2025 20:34 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfv4wuekyk2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3lcgnsk2f5c2sThis Giving Tuesday, help us hold the government to account. We're fighting hard against qualified immunity. We're opening up new practice areas and expanding our staff. We're winning. And we can't do any of it without your help. So if you can, consider investing in our work today. https://pubaccountability.org/clearly-established/thanksgiving2403 Dec 2024 22:11 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3lcgnsk2f5c2shttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3lbwwa4rnlk2gThis Giving Tuesday, give the gift of accountability. (We’re still workshopping the email.) pubaccountability.org/donate [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Nov 2024 15:59 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbwwa4rnlk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3l4f4zczdlr2pSome coverage of our win yesterday. https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2024/09/appeals-court-revives-1-million-jury-award-to-salem-protester-shot-in-the-eye.html17 Sep 2024 23:06 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3l4f4zczdlr2phttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3l4cay4xmpn25NEW: We just won a case against a cop who shot a student protester in the eye. He lost at trial but the court set the verdict aside and gave him qualified immunity. This morning, the Ninth Circuit reversed. It said the district court should not have “nullified the jury’s verdict in this case.” https://pubaccountability.org/clearly-established/mccrae-victory16 Sep 2024 19:39 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3l4cay4xmpn25https://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3l2lz4osude2qOh hey, that's our cue. Check out our recent work! [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Aug 2024 05:55 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3l2lz4osude2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3kppxpnvk7h2rNew issue of Clearly Established is out! It's been a while [read: over a year] since our last issue, so the crop of cases this time is extra spicy. Read all about how our federal courts have been shielding the police and other agents of the state from accountability— https://pubaccountability.org/clearly-established/issue-2209 Apr 2024 20:03 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3kppxpnvk7h2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3kbo7cd6oyb2kA cop shot Elea in the eye with a rubber bullet. He damaged her vision forever & ended her athletic career. A jury awarded her $1m in damages. And then a judge gave him qualified immunity. This week, we filed our opening brief on appeal. More on that & other recent work in our latest newsletter. https://www.pubaccountability.org/clearly-established/our-most-critical-case-yet13 Oct 2023 23:21 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3kbo7cd6oyb2khttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3k53qiab7lz2jExtremely troubling new Bivens case from the Ninth Circuit. Bivens claims are nearly always "dead on arrival." (As you can see, our ED is taking it in stride.) https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2023/08/15/20-55004.pdf [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Aug 2023 17:27 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3k53qiab7lz2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/pubaccountability.org/post/3jyrlfo5ibf2pWe're on Bluesky! Follow us for updates on our cases, where we hold agents of the state accountable for misconduct. We also put out a pretty funny, if somewhat sporadic, newsletter with updates on qualified immunity, Bivens, and other accountability doctrines.22 Jun 2023 18:49 +0000at://did:plc:zg5tadsp3was25rycppfakdh/app.bsky.feed.post/3jyrlfo5ibf2p