42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 & Correctional Officials Liability: A Look to the New Century
| Author | Joseph M. Pellicciotti |
| Date | 01 August 1987 |
| Published date | 01 August 1987 |
| DOI | 10.1177/104398628700300302 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
1
42
U.S.C.
Sec.
1983
&
Correctional
Officials
Liability:
A
Look
to
the
New
Century
by
Joseph
M.
Pellicciotti
ABSTRACT
Recently
there
has
been
a
tremendous
increase
in
the
number
of
state
prisoner
Sec.
1983
civil
rights
actions
against
correctional
officials.
At
the
same
time
the
Supreme
Court
has
embarked
upon
a
course
for
decreasing
correctional
officials
Sec.
1983
liability
exposure.
This
course
will
be
maintained:
over
the
next
years,
the
Court
will
demonstrate
an
increased
concern
for
the
competing
obligations
of
correctional
administra-
tion,
and
the
Court
will
be
less
willing
to
criticize
in
hindsight
the
decisions
of
correctional
officials.
In
fact,
by
the
year
2,000
we
will
look
back
to
the
1980’s
as
the
historical
high
point
for
such
litigation.
This
article
considers
the
legal
change
of
course
and
presents
a
potential
Sec.
1983
liability
standard
for
the
next
century.
In
recent
years,
there
has
been
a
tremendous
increase
in
the
number
of
state
prisoner
civil
rights
actions
against
correctional
officials
in
federal
court.
Generally,
these
suits
have
been
based
on
42
U.S.C.
Sec.
1983
(hereinafter
Sec.
1983).
At
the
same
time,
the
Supreme
Court
has
embarked
upon
a
course
for
decreasing
correctional
officials
Sec.
1983
liability
exposure.
It
is
anticipated
that
this
course
will
be
maintained
through
the
next
decade,
and
by
the
year
2,000
we
will
look
back
to
the
1980’s
as
the
historical
high
point
for
such
litigation.
This
article
considers
the
legal
change
of
course
and
its
liability
implications.
Section
1983
&
the
Litigation
Explosion
In
an
effort
to
enforce
the
provisions
of
the
Fourteenth
Amendment,
in
1871,
Congress
enacted
Sec.
1983
as
Sec.
1
of
the
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