Sponsors (3)
The bill expands injured people's ability to seek jury trials and clarifies the process for suing the United States for harms by federal officers, at the cost of greater taxpayer exposure to litigation and potential operational and defensive impacts on federal employees, while still excluding some time‑barred or finally resolved claims from relief.
People injured by federal law enforcement officers can demand a jury trial for money damages, increasing plaintiffs' ability to obtain jury awards and remedies.
The bill applies Federal Tort Claims Act procedures and 28 U.S.C. §1346(b) to claims involving covered federal officers, clarifying the legal route for suing the United States and standardizing how these claims are handled.
Retroactive and prospective application lets claimants with pending or recent claims invoke the new jury-trial option (subject to statutory limits), expanding access to the new remedy for some existing cases.
The federal government (and thus taxpayers) may face higher litigation costs and larger jury awards from additional jury trials, increasing fiscal exposure.
A broad definition of 'Federal law enforcement officer' could expose many federal employees to suits, prompting more defensive litigation and creating chilling effects on law-enforcement activity and decision-making.
Although partly retroactive, the provision does not revive time‑barred claims or reopen finally adjudicated claims, so some injured people will remain without remedy despite the new jury-trial option.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Permits jury trials in FTCA money-damage suits for injuries allegedly caused by federal law enforcement officers, defines those officers, and applies the change retroactively and prospectively.
Introduced February 9, 2026 by Cory Anthony Booker · Last progress February 9, 2026
Allows people who sue the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act for money damages based on injury, loss of property, personal injury, or death caused by negligent or wrongful acts of federal law enforcement officers to request a jury trial in civil court. It defines who counts as a “federal law enforcement officer,” makes related procedural provisions of the FTCA apply to these claims, and applies the change to past, present, and future claims while stating that it does not revive claims barred by time limits or reopen final judgments. Also includes a short-title provision and a technical conforming change to existing statute language.