To view or download the 2022 supplement of this book here. Constitutional Litigation Under Section 1983 exhaustively analyzes the varied problems that arise in civil rights suits alleging violations of the United States Constitution. The cases, questions, and commentary not only survey the stumbling blocks plaintiffs and defendants are likely to encounter in this type of federal litigation, but also address peculiar problems that tend to arise with specific constitutional rights -- such as the Fourth Amendment's proscription on unreasonable searches and seizures, the Fifth Amendment's requirement of just compensation, and the Due Process Clause's requirements for properly extracting taxes. Topics include: The elements of a Section 1983 claim; Sovereign immunity and the Eleventh Amendment's protection of state governments; Local government liability for constitutional wrongs; The availability of damages, declaratory judgments, and injunctive relief; Absolute and qualified immunities for governmental officials; Exhaustion of remedies before state agencies and courts; Choice of law issues; Res judicata and collateral estoppel; Federal abstention doctrines; The availability of relief against private persons; and The availability of fee-shifting for successful litigants. This book focuses on the particular problems that arise in litigation against states, local governments, and their agents under the United States Constitution. Constitutional Litigation Under Section 1983 is constructed to serve as the principal reading for a two- or three-hour course. The book uses the United States Constitution as a tool to convey to the student a succinct understanding of the policies, procedures, problems, and precedents that surround federal litigation with the government. The Third Edition includes the following case excerpts and related discussions: Connick v. Thompson Safford Unified School District #1 v. Redding Clapper v. Amnesty International Hollingsworth v. Perry United States v. Windsor Fox v. Vice Perdue v. Kenney The Appendix to Constitutional Litigation Under Section 1983 includes the text of relevant provisions in the United States Constitution, together with the text of pertinent statutes and procedural rules. Constitutional Litigation Under Section 1983 is also accompanied by a comprehensive Teacher's Manual (available only to professors).

This student-focused treatise provides a concise, accessible, comprehensive, and readable overview of the doctrine, policy, history, and theory of civil rights and constitutional litigation under Section 1983 and its Bivens federal counterpart. The book is written for courses on Civil Rights Litigation and Federal Courts; it can function as a primary assignment, as an assigned or recommended case and statutory supplement to a casebook or case materials, and as an additional study guide for students wanting additional background, context, and synthesis of the material. The new edition: Covers all aspects of civil rights and constitutional litigation, including the history of civil rights legislation in the United States; the substantive elements of Section 1983 and Bivens causes of action; individual immunity defenses; governmental liability and immunity; procedural and jurisdictional hurdles; abstention; and remedies. Covers doctrinal changes from the Supreme Court since the previous edition, including on Bivens actions, individual officer immunity, abstention, and the scope of injunctive relief. Discusses recent nationwide litigation campaigns over marriage equality and immigration policies to illustrate how plaintiffs and governments litigate these issues. Includes appendices containing the United States Constitution, Emancipation Proclamation, and selected substantive, jurisdictional, and procedural federal statutes that regularly are involved in civil rights and constitutional litigation. All topics and sub-topics include "Puzzles," short problems (drawn from lawsuits and recent lower-court decisions) for use in class discussions and for student study and review.

"This fifth edition of Sword & Shield: A Practical Approach to Section 1983 Litigation is substantially reorganized to provide practitioners with easier access to the information they need as they are handling civil rights claims"--

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.