Asserting Your Civil Rights: Section 1983 Claims

The main federal statute for enforcing a person’s rights under the Unites States Constitution is 42 U.S.C. § 1983, also known as the Civil Rights Act of 1871.  This law was passed by Congress after the Civil War to allow individuals to enforce their constitutional rights in court by civil lawsuits for injunctive relief and damages.  Our system in the United States does not provide for the government to enforce individuals’ constitutional rights when government has violated those rights.  Instead, our system provides for private enforcement of civil and constitutional rights by aggrieved individuals through private civil rights counsel.

Section 1983 states that “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….”

Section 1983 provides that if someone vested with state or local governmental authority and acting in that capacity (“under color of law”), violates a person’s civil rights, they may be held responsible in state or federal court.  Such civil rights include, among others:

• Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, including the right to be free from unlawful arrest without a warrant or probable cause and the right to be free from excessive force in the course of an arrest or other seizure under the Fourth Amendment;
• Protection from deprivation of life, liberty, or property by government action without due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment;
• Equal protection of the law under the Fourteenth Amendment;
• Protection of those convicted of crimes from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment; 
• Protection for freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to peacefully assemble, and the right to vote under the First Amendment;
• and other constitutional rights.

In addition to money damages, prevailing plaintiffs in their Section 1983 civil rights cases also are generally entitled to have their attorneys’ fees and certain case costs paid by the losing defendants.

Haddad & Sherwin LLP have a long track record of winning civil rights cases with results that include large settlements and verdicts for their clients, groundbreaking legal rulings, and important reforms to prevent future harms.  Haddad & Sherwin LLP handle only a unique subset of Section 1983 cases: cases where a person was killed or permanently, catastrophically injured in California by law enforcement or county jail misconduct.  If you would like to consult with experienced civil rights lawyers because your loved one was killed by police or died in a California county jail, then contact the attorneys at Haddad & Sherwin LLP.  If your civil rights were seriously violated, but without death and without permanent, catastrophic injury, you could try the list of civil rights attorneys here. 

A Section 1983 Claim for Police Misconduct

Many civil rights lawyers handle Section 1983 cases for people injured by police misconduct, or more broadly, by law enforcement misconduct that can include sheriff’s deputies and other types of law enforcement officers.  If you need experienced, successful civil rights lawyers because your loved one was killed by police in California, then contact the attorneys at Haddad & Sherwin LLP.  If you are interested in consulting with a civil rights attorney for a situation that did not result in death or permanent, catastrophic injury, you can start with the list of civil rights attorneys here.

A Section 1983 Claim for Jail or Prison Abuse

Some civil rights lawyers handle Section 1983 cases for people injured or killed in county jails or state prison due to excessive force by jail guards, failure to protect from violence, or medical neglect.  Haddad & Sherwin LLP do not handle state prison cases, and limit their representation only to those tragic county jail incidents that resulted in death.  If you need experienced civil rights lawyers because your loved one died in a California county jail, then contact the attorneys at Haddad & Sherwin LLP.  If you are looking for a civil rights attorney for a situation that happened in a state prison, or that resulted in injuries less than death, you could try the list of civil rights attorneys here.