TITLE 42,SECTION 1983 The Civil Rights Act of 1871 is found in Title 42, section 1983 of the United States Code and so is commonly referred to as section 1983. It provides that anyone who, under color of state or local law, causes a person to be deprived of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, or federal law, is liable to that person. In short, if a government agent violates your God-given (Constitutional) rights, they can be held personally liable. What’s the difference in suing an individual verses the agency he/ she works for? In most cases the law only allows a certain amount (a maximum financial payment) to be issued and these cases are often settled out of court with no court orders being issued to the defendants prohibiting them from doing the same thing again. By suing an individual you are asking the court to renounce that persons action and hold them to the standards of law. This statue also provides for “vicarious liability”, meaning the agent’s supervisor, commander, trainer and anyone else who can be shown to have provided inadequate training and/or supervision is also liable for the actions of the defendant. Defendants in 1983 lawsuits can be broken into two main categories, individuals, usually governmental employees or agents, and governments themselves. Among governments, distinctions are made between the federal government, state governments, and local governments. For example, as a result of the 11th Amendment to the United States, state governments can generally be sued for a violation of civil rights in state court, while local governments are routinely sued in federal court for violating an individual’s civil rights.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 01:07:15 +0000