Beyond Qualified Immunity: How Police Avoid Accountability

In this episode, we sit down with Joanna C. Schwartz, UCLA law professor and author of Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable, to unpack the hidden systems that protect police from consequences.

We go beyond the headlines about qualified immunity to explore what really blocks accountability:

• Why most police misconduct lawsuits fail before trial
• How courts, police departments, and legal rules work together to “shield” officers
• The surprising truth about who actually pays when lawsuits succeed
• Why internal discipline systems rarely deliver justice
• What reforms could actually change the system

Grounded in real cases, data, and decades of research, Schwartz reveals a reality most people never see: accountability doesn’t just break down in court—it fails at every stage.

If you care about policing, civil rights, or how legal systems actually work in practice, this conversation is essential listening.