BlogLine

Proposed Ohio Constitutional Amendment to knock out qualified immunity

2/4/25

By: Paul-Michael La Fayette and Ashley Boyes Hetzel

A proposed Ohio Constitutional Amendment has been approved for signature gathering. If successful, the proposed Amendment will be on the November 2025 ballot in Ohio. The proposed Constitutional Amendment is promoted by the Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity as a means of ending qualified immunity for police officers. However, the proposed Amendment goes much further than police misconduct claims. 

The ballot measure, if successful, will eliminate all immunity defenses afforded to the state, political subdivisions (counties, municipalities, townships, etc.), and their employees for claims asserting state constitutional deprivations. Notably, immunity would also be removed for any individuals, volunteers, or entities that are acting on behalf of the public entity. The proposed Amendment to the Ohio Constitution also provides for vicarious liability against a public entity for constitutional violations of its employees and agents. This is in stark contrast to federal § 1983 claims wherein vicarious liability is not recognized. 

Other pertinent provisions of the proposed constitutional amendment include: 

• 6-year statute of limitations for state constitutional violation claims; 
• Jurisdiction is within any Court of Common Pleas as determined by existing venue rules; 
• Jury or bench trial at the election of the plaintiff; 
• Preponderance of the evidence standard; 
• Vicarious liability; 
• Uncapped economic and non-economic damages; 
• Attorney fee recovery regardless of hourly, contingent or pro bono services; and 
• A finding of liability against an employee is grounds for termination of employment. 

Generally, the Ohio Constitution mirrors the US Constitution and, as such, the sweeping changes proposed by the proposed Amendment would encourage plaintiffs to forego federal constitutional claims and, instead, pursue the far more lenient state constitutional claims. It can be reasonably anticipated that the costs of litigating and potential exposure for such claims will have a significant impact on local government budgets, insurance, and ultimately, taxpayers. 

In order to get on the ballot, the Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity will need to collect roughly 420,000 signatures by the first week of July 2025 in order to get on the November ballot. The signatures must be obtained from at least 44 of the 88 counties in Ohio. Of the 44 counties, there must be signatures equal to at least 5% of the total vote cast from the previous governor’s election. The signatures will then need to be verified by the Ohio Secretary of State.

For more information, please contact Paul-Michael La Fayette at paul.lafayette@fmglaw.com, Ashley Boyes Hetzel at ashley.hetzel@fmglaw.com, or your local FMG attorney.