Nature of a civil rights claim
Since the Civil Rights Act of 1871, the United States has given its citizens the right to sue people who violate their federally protected rights while acting under the color of law.
The controlling statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, allows people whose rights have been violated to recover damages not only for the actual harm suffered, but also to punish the person who committed the violation so that it is not repeated.
Claims of this sort are often referred to as "1983 claims," based on the statutory section creating the right to sue.
The controlling statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, allows people whose rights have been violated to recover damages not only for the actual harm suffered, but also to punish the person who committed the violation so that it is not repeated.
Claims of this sort are often referred to as "1983 claims," based on the statutory section creating the right to sue.
What is Protected
1983 claims can reach violations of any of the rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the federal constitution or federal laws when those violations are committed by government actors.
Here are a few examples:
Here are a few examples:
- Excessive force during an arrest
- Destruction of evidence
- Police misconduct
- Sexual assault by prison officials
- Wrongful death while incarcerated
- Wrongful conviction