New Mexico Civil Rights Law Shows No Legal Cost Surge, Data Shows
A study of four states found no increase in police resignations or settlement payouts following the 2021 law change, though local government officials still seek amendments.
By Sanjay Caldwell ·
Law enforcement agencies in New Mexico and Colorado have not faced a spike in lawsuit settlements or officer departures since 2021, according to a quantitative analysis released to state legislators this week. The research challenges long-held concerns among local government leaders that the state's Civil Rights Act would burden public coffers and make it difficult to retain police officers.
The study, titled Watching the Sky Not Fall: A Quantitative Study of the Impact of the NMCRA, examined public records from 2017 to 2023. It compared New Mexico and Colorado, the only two states to abolish qualified immunity, with Washington and Utah, which retained the legal defense. The data indicated that neither the number of lawsuits filed against law enforcement nor the financial payouts for settlements increased significantly in the two states that removed the immunity shield.
Qualified immunity had previously shielded public officials, including police officers, from personal liability in civil rights lawsuits. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the New Mexico Civil Rights Act into law in 2021, allowing residents to sue for violations of state constitutional rights. The legislation also eliminated qualified immunity as a defense for public officials. Since enactment, advocates for local governments have warned of costly payouts and recruitment challenges, but the new data suggests those outcomes have not materialized in the initial years.
Joanna Schwartz, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, co-authored the study and presented the findings to the interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee on Thursday. Schwartz noted that some New Mexico law enforcement agencies did not fulfill the research team's records requests, which limited the scope of the analysis. She cautioned that the evolution of litigation under the act will take years to fully develop as lawyers argue cases and judges issue rulings.
The data showed that police resignations and retirements peaked in all four surveyed states in 2021. Schwartz attributed this peak to the national protests and shifting sentiment toward law enforcement following the murder of George Floyd. Insurance rates also increased across all four states from 2017 to 2023, but the study found no indication that the increases in New Mexico and Colorado were directly related to their civil rights laws.
Despite the preliminary findings, officials from the New Mexico Association of Counties told lawmakers they want to amend the civil rights law during the legislative session starting in January. Grace Philips, the association's risk management director, proposed three specific changes to the current statute. She recommended capping the amount of money awarded in these cases, eliminating the practice of plaintiffs' attorneys recovering money under both the state act and other laws in the same case, and requiring plaintiffs to give government bodies advance notice before filing a lawsuit.
Philips argued that limiting awards would help insurance pools remain solvent. The act initially capped claims at $2 million, but a provision allows the cap to increase annually based on cost-of-living metrics. She expressed concern about the financial stability of these pools, stating, "Frankly, we're terrified about the solvency piece," and asked lawmakers to revert to the $2 million limit.
State Rep. Marianna Anaya, a Democrat from Albuquerque, questioned how many settlements under the state law have actually hit the maximum payout. Philips said she did not have that figure readily available. Anaya noted that civil rights cases brought in federal court under the U.S. Constitution do not have a cap on damages. She suggested that the current state limits provide a comparative advantage, stating, "I believe it would be an incentive for us to just keep going with what we have, which seems like a good thing, comparatively."
The legislative session begins in January, when lawmakers will consider proposals to modify the civil rights law. The study's authors indicated they need more data before making definitive conclusions about the law's full impact, as the legal landscape continues to evolve.
