Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1997
ISSN
0009-3599
Publisher
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Language
en-US
Abstract
This Article explores the role of the common law in Supreme Court interpretation and application of § 1983, which grants a cause of action for violations of constitutional rights committed "under color of any [state] statute, ordinance, regulation, custom or usage."' I argue that the common law has served primarily to narrow the reach of § 1983, and that this is inappropriate in light of the broad statutory language and the absence of good evidence that the enacting Congress intended a narrower application than the statutory language indicates.
Recommended Citation
Jack M. Beermann,
Common Law Elements of the Section 1983 Action
,
in
72
Chicago-Kent Law Review
695
(1997).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/2297
