Nahmod Law

This post is intended primarily for those lawyers, law students and members of the public who are not very familiar with 42 U.S.C. section 1983. It is the first in an introductory series on section 1983 that I will occasionally post.

History and Purposes

At the outset, observe the very close connection between section 1983 and the Fourteenth Amendment.

Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1868, declares that states may not abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States and sets out the protections of due process and equal protection for “any person,” none of which states (and local governments) may deprive or deny.  Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment gives Congress the power to enforce section 1 by appropriate legislation.

Section 1983 was enacted in 1871 by the 42nd Congress pursuant to its section 5 power in order to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment. It effectively creates a Fourteenth Amendment action for damages (and for injunctive relief) against “Every person,” acting under color of state or local law, who deprives a person of his or her Fourteenth Amendment rights and thereby causes damage. As it turns out in Supreme Court case law, “Every person” includes state and local government officials as well as local governments themselves (but not states). Read the rest of this entry »