34 U.S.C. § 20342 — Federal immunity
submitted 7 years ago by Pub. L. 115-424 to r/title-34-CRIME-CONTROL-AND-LAW-ENFORCEMENT · 178 words · no verdicts yet
Anyone who reports suspected child abuse or neglect in good faith, or helps with a resulting investigation, cannot be sued or prosecuted under federal law for doing so, and courts must assume they acted in good faith.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any individual making a good faith report to appropriate authorities of a suspected or known instance of child abuse or neglect, or who otherwise, in good faith, provides information or assistance, including medical evaluations or consultations, in connection with a report, investigation, or legal intervention pursuant to a good faith report of child abuse or neglect shall not be subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution, under any Federal law, rising from making such report or providing such information or assistance.
In a Federal civil action or criminal prosecution brought against a person based on the person’s reporting a suspected or known instance of child abuse or neglect, or providing information or assistance with respect to such a report, as described in paragraph (1), there shall be a presumption that the person acted in good faith.
If the defendant prevails in a Federal civil action described in paragraph (2), the court may award costs and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by the defendant.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 115–424, § 3(b), Jan. 7, 2019, 132 Stat. 5470.)
- 2019Enacted · Pub. L. 115-424 · 132 Stat. 5470
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 115-424 on 2019-01-07.
all 0 arguments · sorted by: best
no arguments yet — make the first case