16-b-1 Essential Requirements for Obtaining Relief Under Section 1983

• Library: A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (2020 Edition)

16-B-1. Essential Requirements for Obtaining Relief Under Section 1983

Section 1983 states:

Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.³⁰

The words and phrases in italics state the three essential requirements (also known as elements) that you must fulfill when bringing a lawsuit under Section 1983. In your complaint, you need to show that all three elements of Section 1983 are met.

(a) First Requirement: Person

Section 1983 's first requirement is that you must show that your rights were violated by a "person." The legal definition of "person" for Section 1983 claims includes more than actual people (prison wardens, guards, etc.). A city, county, or municipality can also be a "person" under Section 1983.³¹ The definition of "person," however, does not include state governments or their agencies.³² For example, you cannot sue the State of New York or the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision under Section 1983.³³ Thus, while officials (actual people) at any level of government (including state government) ³⁴ may be sued under Section 1983, only non-state governments and their agencies (such as cities, counties, local agencies, and private corporations) may be sued as a "person" under Section 1983. See Part C(2) of this Chapter, "Whom to Name as Defendants" for more information on whom you can sue using Section 1983.

You should name all "persons" who violated your rights as defendants. This includes individuals, local government agencies, or both. You may name as many defendants as you choose, as long as each of them is personally involved in violating your rights. Courts consider officials and local government agencies to be personally involved if they:

(1) Directly participated in the wrong; or

(2) Knew about the wrong but did not try to stop or fix it; or

(3) Failed to oversee the people who caused the wrong, for example by hiring unqualified people or failing to adequately train the staff; or

(4) Created a policy or custom that allowed the wrong to occur.

The situations listed in (1), (2), and (3) are most common in cases where you are challenging defendants' specific behavior or failure to act. The fourth situation occurs when you challenge general rules of the prison. An example of a type (1) situation could be a guard refusing to get help for an injured prisoner who asks him for medical care. An example of a type (2) situation could be a guard seeing a prisoner being attacked by other prisoners and not trying to stop the attack. In a type (3) situation, prison officials may be held liable for hiring unqualified people ³⁵ or failing to properly train or supervise their staff. ³⁶

Finally, in a type (4) situation, prison officials can be liable for creating rules, policies, or customs that violate your rights. These rules and policies can be written ³⁷ or unwritten. ³⁸ You should always be specific about what kind of rule or practice you are challenging and who was responsible for creating the rule or practice (if you know). If you are arguing that an unwritten policy or...