Prof. Jill Hasday Quoted in ProPublica on Constitutional Law Governing Prosecution of Federal Agents

Professor Jill Hasday, Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Centennial Professor in Law, was quoted in ProPublica about constitutional law governing the prosecution of federal agents. This week, prosecutors from Hennepin County and the State of Minnesota filed a federal lawsuit against the departments of Homeland Security and Justice over the evidence in the ICE-related shootings in Minneapolis. If charges are filed against the agents involved in the shooting, prosecutors would have to prove the agents don’t qualify for immunity through the Constitution’s supremacy clause, a rarely invoked legal doctrine that protects federal officers from state prosecutions if they’re acting lawfully and within the scope of their duties. Prof. Hasday said there’s no easy answer as to whether Minnesota will be able to get past a supremacy clause defense. She said, “That depends on the facts, but probably the odds are stacked against it.”