42 U.S.C. § 1983

E85763

Reconstruction-era statute United States federal statute cause of action civil rights statute

42 U.S.C. § 1983 is a key federal civil rights statute that allows individuals to sue state and local officials in U.S. courts for violations of constitutional or federally protected rights.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form	Occurrences
Civil action for deprivation of rights	1

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Reconstruction-era statute ⓘ United States federal statute ⓘ cause of action ⓘ civil rights statute ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Civil Rights Act of 1871 ⓘ surface form: Ku Klux Klan Act civil remedy provision Section 1983 ⓘ § 1983 ⓘ
appliesTo	local officials ⓘ persons acting under color of state law ⓘ state officials ⓘ
citationForm	42 U.S.C. § 1983 ⓘ
codifies	Civil Rights Act of 1871 ⓘ surface form: Section 1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871
doesNotApplyTo	federal officials ⓘ
doesNotProvide	respondeat superior liability for municipalities ⓘ
enactedAs	Section 1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871 ⓘ
geographicScope	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
governingBody	United States Congress ⓘ
governs	municipal liability for constitutional violations under Monell ⓘ
hasOfficialName	42 U.S.C. § 1983 self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Civil action for deprivation of rights
historicalPurpose	to provide a federal remedy against abuses by state officials during Reconstruction ⓘ
interpretedBy	City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989) ⓘ Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982) ⓘ Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994) ⓘ Mitchum v. Foster, 407 U.S. 225 (1972) ⓘ Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978) ⓘ Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167 (1961) ⓘ Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235 (1989) ⓘ West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42 (1988) ⓘ Will v. Michigan Department of State Police, 491 U.S. 58 (1989) ⓘ
jurisdiction	United States federal courts NERFINISHED ⓘ
legalEffect	allows suits for violations of federal statutory rights ⓘ allows suits for violations of the U.S. Constitution ⓘ creates a federal cause of action for deprivation of rights ⓘ
partOf	Title 42 of the United States Code ⓘ United States Code ⓘ
providesRemedy	damages ⓘ declaratory relief ⓘ injunctive relief ⓘ
requires	action under color of state law ⓘ deprivation of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States ⓘ
statuteOfLimitationsRule	borrows state personal injury limitations period ⓘ
subjectTo	absolute immunity for some functions such as judicial and legislative acts ⓘ qualified immunity defenses for certain officials ⓘ
usedFor	First Amendment retaliation claims ⓘ due process claims ⓘ equal protection claims ⓘ excessive force claims ⓘ police misconduct claims ⓘ prison conditions litigation ⓘ unlawful arrest claims ⓘ

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Enforcement Clause → basisFor → 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ⓘ

42 U.S.C. § 1983 → hasOfficialName → 42 U.S.C. § 1983 self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Civil action for deprivation of rights