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Family attorney urges Minnesota lawmakers to create legal paths to hold federal officers accountable
Summary
An attorney representing a family of a person killed during recent enforcement actions told a Senate subcommittee Minnesota should change law so victims can sue federal officers for constitutional violations; he outlined limits of current remedies and described legislative options.
Antonio Romanucci, an attorney representing the family of Renee Macklin Goode, told the Jan. 29 Minnesota Senate subcommittee that existing federal remedies are inadequate to hold federal officers individually accountable for alleged constitutional violations.
Romanucci summarized legal challenges: the Bivens remedy (which once allowed individuals to sue federal officers for constitutional violations) has been narrowed by the Supreme Court, and the Federal Tort Claims Act requires claimants to sue the government through administrative claims and limits remedies. "Rights are not rights without remedies," Romanucci said.
He outlined two paths for change. At the federal level, Congress could amend 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or otherwise restore an explicit remedy allowing suits against federal officers. At the state level, Minnesota could enact a state-law tort that parallels federal constitutional protections so plaintiffs could sue under state law for constitutional-type harms; Romanucci cited recent Illinois legislation (House Bill 1312) as an example of a state creating pathways to accountability.
Romanucci urged the committee to consider legislative remedies, evidence preservation requirements and administrative reforms that would ensure investigations and evidence gathering are transparent and retained for families and independent counsel.
