In 2023, the California Supreme Court ruling in Leon v. County of Riverside punctured the unjust legal
shield that has protected law enforcement and other government officials from being held accountable
when they violate the rights of our communities. 

From the streets of Los Angeles to neighborhoods across California, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and other communities of color have until now been powerless to obtain justice in civil as well as criminal court for even the most egregious police misconduct.

But, in 2023, the case of a California woman seeking justice for police misconduct in the death of her
husband put a significant crack in the concept of state-sanctioned immunity.

In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court struck down a 30-year-old legal precedent that gave police a blank check to commit abuses during crime investigations without fear of civil lawsuits.

As a grassroots movement fighting anti-Asian hate and systemic state violence, we view this ruling as a major victory—and a powerful tool for our ongoing campaign to completely abolish qualified immunity in California.

The Reality of "Investigation Immunity"

Under the state's Government Claims Act, California law has long granted police immunity for harm
inflicted during prosecutions, even when officers act maliciously. 

In 1994, a lower appellate court took this injustice a step further, expanding that immunity to cover the entire investigation process before any charges are even filed.

For nearly three decades, law enforcement agencies used this loophole to dismiss countless civil rights lawsuits. 

They argued that the very moment an officer arrives on a scene, they are completely immune from liability for their actions.

This is the system that left the family of José Leon traumatized, and it is the system we are organizing to dismantle.

The Case of José Leon: A Fight for Dignity

The high court’s historic ruling comes from the case of Dora Leon v. The County of Riverside. 

In 2017, José Leon was fatally shot by a neighbor in Riverside County. 

When sheriff's deputies arrived, they dragged his body behind a vehicle. In the process, José's clothing was pulled down, exposing his genitals.

For eight agonizing hours, deputies left his half-naked body exposed to the elements and in plain view of his grieving wife and the public while they conducted their investigation.

When Dora Leon sued the county for the severe emotional distress caused by this blatant disrespect, lower courts threw the case out. Why? Because the court claimed the officers were performing an "investigation," making them legally untouchable.

The California Supreme Court has finally said: No more. Justice Leondra Kruger wrote for the
unanimous court, making it clear that investigations and prosecutions are not the same, and police cannot use investigations as a shield against basic accountability.

Why This Matters for Asian American Communities

We know that state-sanctioned violence and institutional neglect do not impact everyone equally. Anti-
Asian hate, racism, and police misconduct are deeply intertwined. When our community members face
profiling, excessive force, or secondary trauma at the hands of the state, "qualified immunity" and similar state-level shields have consistently blocked our path to justice.

 The Shield of Qualified Immunity Silences Victims: When the law tells us that officers cannot
be sued or prosecuted even if they act maliciously, it discourages our community
members—especially immigrants and non-English speakers—from coming forward.

 The Shield of Qualified Immunity Perpetuates Systemic Harm: Without civil and criminal
liability, there is no financial or systemic incentive for police departments to reform their behavior,
retrain officers, root out bias, and no mechanism for true accountability.

 Breaking the Shield of Qualified Immunity Is about Solidarity: This victory reminds us that
our struggle is bound up with the struggles of all communities of color. 

The fight for José Leon’s dignity is the same fight we wage daily for accountability in our own neighborhoods.

The Road Ahead: Abolish the Shield Completely

While this ruling is a critical crack in the armor of police immunity, our work is far from finished. 

Current state law and policy still grant law enforcement dangerous protections that shield them from the consequences of their misconduct. That’s why advocates and victims such as the family of Yong Yang, who was experiencing a mental health crisis when he was shot to death in his parents’ Koreatown home by police on May 2, 2024, continue to be devoted to this fight.

We don't just want to narrow these protections—we want to abolish them.

The Leon ruling didn't shatter the shield completely, but it drove a deep wedge into it, proving that police immunity is not impenetrable.

Already, four Western states have smashed the shield of qualified immunity. Police officers in Colorado,
Montana, Nevada, and New Mexico are not allowed to use qualified immunity as a defense against claims of misconduct in civil court. 

As part of our statewide California campaign, we are organizing to eliminate these unfair legal shields entirely, ensuring that every government official in California is held to the same standard of justice as the rest of us.

Take Action with Us

True safety and justice come from community solidarity and systemic accountability, not giving unchecked power to the state. 

Join our local LA coalition meetings, share this victory with your neighbors, and help us pressure state legislators to end qualified immunity once and for all.

Read the California Supreme Court’s June 22, 2023 unanimous opinion at
https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/2023/s269672.html

For more information about the movement to break the shield of qualified immunity at the state and federal levels, see https://ij.org/qualified-immunity-state-reforms/

To view the original reporting and a breakdown of the legal analysis, read https://www.kbklawyers.com/a-victory-for-victims-of-police-misconduct-recent-california-supreme-court-ruling-empowers-legal-action-against-law-enforcement/