⚖️🇺🇸🥶🪦 Lawfare Daily: Can Minnesota Prosecute ICE Agent Jonathan Ross?
🤖 AI Summary
- ⚖️ States possess undisputed jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute federal officials for state crimes, as separate sovereigns have independent interests in upholding their laws.
- 🛡️ Absolute immunity for federal agents does not exist in law; claims of blanket protection by administration officials contradict over a century of legal precedent.
- 🏛️ Supremacy Clause immunity is the actual legal standard, shielding federal officers only when their actions are authorized by federal law and are objectively reasonable for fulfilling their duties.
- 🔫 Minnesota could pursue various charges against agent Jonathan Ross, including first, second, or third-degree murder, and manslaughter, similar to the Derek Chauvin case.
- 🚑 Failure to provide medical aid is a specific crime in Minnesota that investigators are likely scrutinizing, given reports that agents prevented bystanders from helping the victim.
- 🚛 Cases against federal officials are almost always removed to federal court, though they remain state prosecutions litigated by state attorneys using state substantive law.
- 🚫 The presidential pardon power is restricted to federal offenses and cannot be used to clear state-level criminal convictions.
- 🛑 Current federal refusal to investigate or share information is highly irregular and has led to multiple resignations within the Department of Justice and the US Attorney’s office.
- 📢 Rhetoric regarding absolute immunity appears designed to embolden federal agents by suggesting they can act without fear of state-level accountability or consequences.
🤔 Evaluation
- 🔍 Comparative Perspectives: While the speakers emphasize the strength of state jurisdiction, some legal scholars argue that the 2024 Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. United States (published by the Supreme Court of the United States) creates a broader climate of executive deference that might influence lower courts to expand Supremacy Clause immunity.
- 📖 Topics for Exploration: Investigate the historical application of the In re Neagle standard and how modern federal use-of-force policies intersect with state statutes regarding the duty to retreat or the use of deadly force in moving vehicle scenarios.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
👮 Q: Can a state arrest a federal agent for a shooting that occurred during an official operation?
🛡️ A: Yes, states have the sovereign authority to investigate and charge federal agents under state criminal laws if the agent’s conduct was not objectively reasonable or necessary to perform their federal duties.
📜 Q: What is the difference between absolute immunity and Supremacy Clause immunity?
⚖️ A: Absolute immunity would provide a total shield from any prosecution regardless of the act, whereas Supremacy Clause immunity only applies if the official was acting within the scope of their authority and in an objectively reasonable manner.
🗳️ Q: Can the President pardon a federal agent convicted in a state court?
🚫 A: No, the United States Constitution limits the presidential pardon power to offenses against the United States, meaning it does not apply to state-level criminal convictions.
🏛️ Q: Why are state criminal cases against federal agents moved to federal court?
🔄 A: Federal law allows for removal to ensure that federal officers are not subjected to local prejudice and to allow a federal judge to evaluate potential federal immunity defenses early in the process.
📚 Book Recommendations
↔️ Similar
- 📘 The Hollow Hope by Gerald N. Rosenberg (University of Chicago Press) examines the limitations of the legal system in achieving social change and the complexities of jurisdictional authority.
- 📘 Federalism and the Making of America by David Brian Robertson (Routledge) provides a detailed history of the shifting power dynamics between state and federal governments.
🆚 Contrasting
- 📙 The Executive Unbound by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule (Oxford University Press) argues for a more powerful executive branch with fewer legal constraints in the modern era.
- 📙 Power and Constraint by Jack Goldsmith (W. W. Norton & Company) explores how the executive branch maintains authority while navigating internal and external legal checks.
🎨 Creatively Related
- 📗 The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein (Liveright) details how local and federal policies intersected to create systemic issues, providing context for modern jurisdictional conflicts.
- 📗 Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko (PublicAffairs) traces the history of militarization in American policing, relevant to the use of force by federal agents in urban settings.