Section 1983 - Research Guide
by Deborah Showalter-Johnson, Branch Librarian, Kansas City
Introduction | Statutes | Cases | Regs, Rules, Forms | Agencies
Treatises: General Specific | Law Reviews | Blogs & News | Related Resources
42 U.S.C. §1983 is part of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, ch. 22, §1, 17 Stat. 13.Jurisdiction is prescribed at 28 U.S.C. §1343 (a)(3). A claim can be made under Section 1983 for damages and relief against state or other local officials who have deprived the claimant of any constitutional rights, privileges or immunities.
Federal:
42 USC Chapter 21, Subchapter1... FindLaw, LII, Congress, AccessGPO
Excellent Statute Summary at: ELInfornet
42 USC §1997e Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA)
“No action shall be brought with respect to prison conditions under section 1983
of this title, or any other Federal law, by a prisoner confined in any jail..”
States: Although Section 1983 violations in cases of employment discrimination do not have to be filed through the EEOC they are subject to a state’s statute of limitations for such filings.
Arkansas: 16-123 Civil Rights
16-123-105 Civil Rights Offenses
Iowa: 2005 Iowa Code §669.22 Actions in federal court
2005 Iowa Code §670.8 Officers and employees defended
2005 Iowa Code Title VI Human Services including Civil Rights
Minnesota Current Minnesota Statutes Search: Human Rights
Missouri: RSMo 56.293 To defend elected county officials in certain suits;
RSMo 56.453 Circuit Attorney, additional duties, how established
RSMO 105.300 Definitions “Applicable Federal Law”
RSMo 213 Human Rights
Nebraska: Nebraska Statutes §20-148 Deprivation of constitutional and statutory rights, privileges, or immunities; redress
Nebraska Statutes §Section 15-840 Claims; how submitted and allowed
Nebraska Statutes Chapter 20 Human Rights
North Dakota N.D. Century Code §12.1-14
Also, check the paper version of the North Dakota Century Code Index under Discrimination and Human Rights:
North Dakota Century Code KFN 8630 1943 .A23 <all libraries except Cedar Rapids and St. Paul
South Dakota: South Dakota Codified Laws CHAPTER 15-2 Limitation of Actions Generally
South Dakota Codified Laws 15-2-15.2 Time for bringing action under federal civil rights statutes
South Dakota Codified Laws 15 et seq. Human rights
Searching “Section 1983" will bring up a huge file impossible to use. We suggest you combine the search with a specific issue or such terms as: “civil rights”, discrimination, retaliation, “color of law”, “state action”, discharge, terminate, fired, motive, pretextual, employer, employment, worker, demote, etc. Use more than one when possible.
Searching “Section 1983" will bring up a suggestion to restructure your search to be more specific by using such terms as: "summary judgment", negligence, "attorney fee", indictment, arbitration, lawsuit, damage, discovery, settlement, insurer, arrest, "third party", "punitive damage", conspiracy, liable, compensation, transfer liability, "due process", "abuse of discretion", deposition, abused, injury, discrimination, or combine with a particular issue, etc.
TITLE 28 – JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION, CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, PART 40 – STANDARDS FOR INMATE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES – Table of Contents Subpart B – Procedures for Obtaining Certification of a Grievance Procedure, Sec. 40.21 Notification of court.
TITLE 28 – JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION, CHAPTER I – DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, PART 40 – STANDARDS FOR INMATE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES, Subpart A – Minimum Standards for Inmate Grievance Procedures
U. S. Department of Justice (Use Search option for “Section 1983")
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
Federal Judicial Center
Catalog (Subject - Section 1983) checking “publication” will get you online access to:
1. Major Issues in the Federal Law of Employment Discrimination, Fourth Edition
2. Section 1983 Litigation by Karen M. Blum; Kathryn R. Urbonya 1998
3. Local Government Liability Under Section 1983 (research date Sept. 24, 2005) (552 pp., 2.6M) by Karen M. Blum
4. Section 1983: Qualified Immunity (research date Sept. 24, 2005) (713 pp., 3.3M) by Karen M. Blum
(Checking “all” will glean a number of audio resources.)
Workshop on Section 1983 Litigation for District and Magistrate Judges (July 2003)
Note: Information on Section 1983 and how it is applied may also be found in resources on specific legal issues. For examples, see the second listing below.
Challenging the conditions of Prisons and Jails: a report on Section 1983 Litigation by Roger A. Hanson & W. K. Daley
KF 9731 .H35 1995; All libraries except Lincoln and Cedar Rapids
Civil Actions Against State and Local Government, its divisions, agencies, and officers
KF 1322 .C58 1992 Chapter 7 (looseleaf); St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, St. Paul
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Litigation: the law of Section 1983 by Sheldon H. Nahmod
KF 1325 .C58 N34 1991; 3rd ed;. St. Louis and Desmoines
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Litigation: the law of Section 1983 by Sheldon H. Nahmod
KF 1325 .C58 N34 4th ed. (1997); All libraries
Constitutional Litigation Under Section 1983: a treatise for city attorneys, public interest litigators, and students by M. David Gelfand
KF 5300 .G45 1996; St. Louis only
Federal Habeas Corpus Review: Challenging State Court Criminal Convictions, a discussion paper by Roger A. Hanson & W. K. Daley. Bureau of Justice Statistics
HV 9471 .H257 1995; All libraries except Cedar Rapids and Lincoln
The Law of Municipal Corporations by Eugene McQuillin (3rd, 1949 – )
KF 5305 .M34 Mainly Section 12; St. Louis, Lincoln, Kansas City, Omaha
Litigating Employment Discrimination and Civil Rights Cases by Harold S. Lewis, Jr. And Elizabeth J. Norman
KF 1325 .C58 L493 2002 Mainly Section 2; Kansas City only
Postconviction Remedies by Larry w. Yackle (1981 w/ update)
KF 9010 .Y3 §§22, 26, 27, 40; St. Louis, Kansas City, St. Paul
Resource Guide for Managing Prisoner Civil Rights Litigation: with special emphasis on the Prison litigation Reform Act issued by FJC 1996
KF 9731 .R47 1996 Specifically see Appendices B & D for forms for prisoners; All libraries except Cedar Rapids
Searches & Seizures, Arrests and Confessions by William E. Ringel 2nd ed. (Looseleaf)
KF 9625 .R53 1979 Mainly Chapter 22, §9 – end; St. Louis, Des Moines, Kansas City, Omaha
Section 1983 Federal Jury Practice and Instructions by Stephen Yagman
KF 1325 .C58 Y34 1998; St. Louis, Minneapolis, Omaha, St. Paul
Section 1983 Litigation by Karen M. Blum
KF 1325 B485 1998; All libraries except Cedar Rapids and Omaha
Section 1983 Litigation: Claims and Defenses 4th edition (2003) by Martin A. Schwartz
KF 1325 .C58 S362 (looseleaf); All libraries except Cedar Rapids
Note: Volume 1 – 1B: Claims and Defenses (looseleaf)
Volume 2: Statutory Attorney’s Fees
Volume 3: Federal Evidence
Volume 4: Jury Instructions
Section 1983 Litigation in a Nutshell 2nd by Michael G. Collins
KF 1325 .C58 C65 2001; Fargo, Kansas City, St. Louis, St. Paul
Rosenstock’s Section 1983 Civil Rights Digest by Richard Rosenstock (looseleaf)
KF 1325 .C58 R68; Des Moines, Fargo, Kansas City, Omaha
State and Local Government Civil Rights Liability by Ivan E. Bodensteiner (4 volumes looseleaf)
KF 1325 .C58 B63 mainly Volume 1; St. Louis, Kansas City, St. Paul
Suing and Defending Cities for Federal Constitutional Violations: a treatise for City Attorneys and Public Interest Litigators 3rd by M. David Gelfand (Looseleaf)
KF 5300 .G452; St. Louis, Kansas City, St. Paul
Sword & Shield Revisited: a Practical approach to Section 1983
KF 1325 .C58 S96 1998; St. Paul only
Treatises – Specific issues
Information on Section 1983 and how it is applied may also be found in resources on specific legal issues. For example:
Americans With Disabilities Act Handbook by Henry H. Perritt, Jr.
KF 3469 .P47 2003; All libraries except Cedar Rapids, Fargo, Minneapolis
Check Index under “Section 1983"
Education Law edited by James A. Rapp (Looseleaf) Matthew Bender
KF 4119 .E275; Des Moines, Kansas City, Little Rock, Minneapolis, Omaha
Check Index under “Civil Rights Act of 1871"
Education Law by Charles J. Russo & Ralph D. Mawdsley (Looseleaf) Law Journals Press
KF 4119 .R87; Kansas City, St. Louis, St. Paul
Check Index under “Civil Rights Act of 1871"
Employment Discrimination by Lex K. Larson (Looseleaf) Matthew Bender
KF 3464 .L37 2nd; All libraries except Cedar Rapids
Check Index under “Section 1983"
Manual on Employment Discrimination Law and Cvil Rights Actions in the Federal Courts by Charles R. Richey (Looseleaf)
KF 3464 .Z9 R52 2nd; Fargo, Kansas City, Little Rock, Minneapolis, Omaha, St. Louis, St. Paul
Check Index under “Section 1983"
Nichols on Eminent Domain by Julius L. Sackman (Looseleaf) Matthew Bender
KF 5599 .A6 S3; All libraries except Cedar Rapids
Check Index under “Section 1983"
Police Misconduct: Law and Litigation by Michael Avery
KF 1307 .P65; All libraries except Cedar Rapids, Lincoln, Omaha
Check Chapter 1 & Index under “Section 1983"
Police Misconduct and Civil rights: Federal Jury Practice and Instructions by Stephen Yagman
KF 1325 .C58 Y34 2002; Fargo, Lincoln, Omaha, St. Louis, St. Paul
Provides jury instructions for use in Section 1983 actions
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Law and Practice by Alba Conte 3rd ed.
KF 3467 .C68 2000; Des Moines, Fargo, Kansas City, Lincoln, Little Rock
Check Index under “Section 1983"
Civil rights (42 U.S.C. §1983) by Laura Oren
37 Texas Tech Law Review 707 (2005) Sources: Lexis; Westlaw; Hein online
Summer 1996, Vol. 10, No. 2
Excerpts From the Practising Law Institute’s 18th Annual Section 1983 civil rights Litigation Program (entire issue) 19 Touro Law Review 569 (2003)
Sources: Lexis; Westlaw; Hein online
In Praise of the eleventh Amendment and Section 1983 by John C. Jeffries, Jr.
84 Virginia Law Review 47 (1998) Sources: Lexis; Westlaw; Hein online
Intentional Violations of Miranda: A Strategy for Liability by Kimberly A. Crawford, J.D.
1997 Law Enforcement Bulletin An FBI publication
Liability Implications of Departmental Policy Violations by John C. Hall
1997 Law Enforcement Bulletin An FBI publication
Procedural Means of Enforcement Under 42 U.S.C. §1983. Contained in The Georgetown Law Journal Thirty-fourth Annual Review of Criminal Procedure 2005 under section on Prisoners’ Rights. 34 Geo L.J. Ann. Rev. Crim. Proc. 2005
Available in all libraries.
Section 1983: Doctrinal Foundations and an Empirical Study by Theodore Eisenberg.
67 Cornell Law Review 482 (1982) Sources: Lexis; Westlaw; Hein online
Section 1983 and Federal Protection of Individual Rights – Will the Statute Remain Alive or Fade Away? by Harry A. Blackmun 60 New York University Law Review 1 (1985)
Sources: Lexis; Westlaw; Hein online
Selected Excerpts: Practising Law Institute Twentieth Annual §1983 Civil Rights Litigation Program (Entire issue) 20 Touro Law Review 577 (2004) Sources: Lexis; Westlaw; Hein
Sixteenth Annual Supreme Court Review Program: Supreme Court 2003-2004 Term: the §1983 Decisions by Professor Marin A. Schwartz
20 Touro Law Review 867 (2004) Sources: Lexis; Westlaw; Hein online
Taking History Seriously: Municipal Liability Under 42 U.S.C. §1983 and the Debate Over Respondeat Superior by David Jacks Achtenberg
73 Fordham Law Review 2183 (2005) Sources: Lexis; Westlaw; Hein online
Crime and Federalism (Discussion emphasis: crime, federalism, Section 1983)
American Family Rights Association (Section 1983 page)
Civil Liability Section 1983 Update (2003)
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
article: Municipal Liability under Section 1983
King County Law Library (Seattle) Research Guide
LSU Medical and Public Health Law Site: Section 1983
National Center For Poverty Law Law Library (Section 1983 Suits Case List)
Orange County Department of Education Legal Services: Liability under Section 1983
Bureau of Justice Statistics report
Pro Se Handbook: The Manual for the Litigant Filing Without Counsel, May 1997, Idaho U.S. District Court
Created January 2006