42 U.S.C. § 1983

Example 1

A state governor issues an order segregating the state government based on race. People affected by the order may sue the governor under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Example 2

A U.S. senator suspects that his wife is cheating on him with a journalist. The senator uses law enforcement to spy on the journalist. Police officers illegally search the journalist’s home, computer, and mail. The journalist may sue the police officers and the senator under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violating his Fourth Amendment rights.

Case Examples

• Inmates: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is most commonly used by inmates to protest their treatment while in jail or prison. For example, in Martinez v. Evans, 444 F. Supp. 191 (D. Colo. 1978), Alfred Martinez, an inmate housed in the Colorado prison system, brought a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against the prison where he was housed, alleging that requiring inmates to visit with their friends and family by telephone was cruel and unusual punishment. Id. Martinez further argued that the practice had caused him to develop an infectious boil on his ear, resulting in pain and anguish. Id. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit disagreed, finding that the conduct was not cruel and unusual punishment, and upheld the practice pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983. Id.
• Civil matters: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 can also be applied to civil matters. In Ojeda v. Hackney, 319 F. Supp. 149, 154 (N.D. Tex. 1970), Texas families brought a class action lawsuit against the governmental entity for terminating their welfare benefits. The lower court sided with the plaintiffs, stating that they had the right to bring the case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and that welfare benefits were considered a right that could be infringed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Id. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that the lower court was correct that the case could proceed under 42 U.S.C § 1983. Id.

Key facts:

42 U.S.C. § 1983 was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1871 to fight the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK had killed thousands of people, mostly former slaves, in a reign of terror intended to restore white supremacy in the South. Disturbed by the violence, Grant personally walked from the White House to Congress to ask the legislative branch to act. The result was the Civil Rights Act of 1871, which included 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Using the bill, the federal government temporarily eliminated the KKK; the organization didn’t return until 1915. While other parts of the 1871 Civil Rights Act were struck down by the Supreme Court, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 remains on the books.