ORIGINAL WORK IS “ENTITLED FEDERAL PRACTICE AID FOR LEGAL AID ATTORNEYS” — THESE SECTIONS FOCUS

FROM “ENTITLED FEDERAL PRACTICE AID FOR LEGAL AID ATTORNEYS” — THESE SECTIONS FOCUS ON ENFORCING FEDERAL RIGHTS AGAINST STATES, STATE GOVERNING OFFICIALS, DIRECTORS , SUPERVISORS, AND OFFICERS. They can be held liable and are not immune. Highlighted for your benefit. Chapter 8: LIMITATIONS ON RELIEF AGAINST A GOVERNMENT ENTITY OR BODY III. Damage Claims Against Cities and Counties Under Section 1983 Most Section 1983 claims for damages involve suits against government employees who have violated the Constitution, statutes, or their employer’s own stated policies. The boundaries of such claims are discussed in this subchapter. III.A. The Requirement of a Custom, Policy or Practice It is well established that allegedly unlawful actions by governmental employees acting solely on their own for their own purposes cannot be imputed to the agency, and do not give rise to agency liability under Section 1983, because a city, county, or similar governmental agency is only liable for the deprivation of federal rights caused by its own “custom, policy or practice.” /223/ Monell establishes the principle that the government should only be liable for actions for which it is directly responsible, establishing the parameters of the exception to the common law rule that government should be immune from suit. III.A.1. No Governmental “Respondeat Superior” Liability The fact that the state actor was a government employee acting within the scope of ...