Section 803 of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U.S.C.A. § 1997e, imposes an exhaustion of prison administrative remedies requirement on prisoners who wish to sue under § 1983. (See § 9:65 in Nahmod, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Litigation:
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The Medicaid Act, the Spending Power and Section 1983 “Laws” Actions: Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic
The Talevski Background In Health & Hospital Corp. of Marian County v. Talevski, 599 U.S. 166 (2023), the Supreme Court held that the Federal Nursing Home Amendments Act of 1978’s transfer and medication rules created privately rights enforceable under §…
Supreme Court Adopts “Totality of Circumstances” Approach in 4th Amendment Excessive Force Cases: Barnes v. Felix
[You may have noticed that it’s been a while since my last post. That’s because I’ve been working on the 2025-26 Update to my Treatise, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Litigation: The Law of Section 1983 (West)(Westlaw). But the Update…
Supreme Court Gives Section 1983 Plaintiffs in Removed Pendent Claim Cases a Strategic Option: The 2025 Royal Canin Decision
Where a defendant is sued initially in a state court under §1983, the choice arises of defending in the state court or removing the proceeding to federal court. This choice is given §1983 defendants by 28 U.S.C. §1441(b), which provides…
41st Annual Section 1983 Conference: April 10-11, 2025, at Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago-Kent is holding its 41st Annual Section 1983 Conference on Thursday and Friday, April 10-11, 2025, at the Law School. This Conference covers many aspects of section 1983 and constitutional law. I will speak on The Basics of Section 1983…
Supreme Court Sets Out New “Prevailing Party” Rule in Lackey v. Holcomb, Attorney’s Fees Case Involving Preliminary Injunctions and Mootness
The Supreme Court, on February 25, 2025, reversed the Fourth Circuit in Lackey v. Holcomb, 145 S. Ct. – (2025)(No. 23-621), an attorney’s fees case dealing with preliminary injunctions and mootness, and answered the following Questions Presented in the affirmative:…
Supreme Court in Williams v. Reed Reverses Alabama Supreme Court Narrowly on State Court Section 1983 Claims and Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies
It has been blackletter law since Patsy v. Fla. Bd. of Regents, 457 U.S. 496 (1982), and well before, that exhaustion of administrative remedies, like exhaustion of judicial remedies (see Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 473 (1961)), is not required…
An Important Section 1983 Fourth Amendment Deadly Force Case: Barnes v. Felix in the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court heard oral argument on January 22, 2025, in a potentially significant section 1983 Fourth Amendment excessive force case from the Fifth Circuit, Barnes v. Felix, 91 F.4th 393 (5th Cir. 2024), cert granted 10-4-24 (No. 23-1239). The…
An Updated Section 1983 Primer (9): Absolute Judicial Immunity
I have been updating my popular Section 1983 Primer series, first published sequentially over ten years ago. In a recently updated post I blogged about the Supreme Court‘s approach to absolute immunity generally under section 1983. I specifically referred to…
An Updated Section 1983 Primer (8): Absolute Legislative Immunity
(It’s been a while since my last post. But I just finished teaching my First Amendment seminar and grading student papers, so I am back). I have been updating my popular Section 1983 Primer series, first published sequentially over ten…