''Owen v. City of Independence'', 445 U.S. 622 (1980), was a case decided by the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, in which the court held that a municipality has no immunity from liability under
Section 1983
The Enforcement Act of 1871 (), also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, Third Enforcement Act, Third Ku Klux Klan Act, Civil Rights Act of 1871, or Force Act of 1871, is an Act of the United States Congress which empowered the President to suspend ...
flowing from its constitutional violations and may not assert the good faith of its officers as a defense to such liability.
Background
The city council voted to fire the city's chief of police and in doing so, violated his procedural due process rights to a pre-termination hearing. Plaintiff named the city and city council in the suit.
Opinion of the Court
In an opinion written by
Justice Brennan, the Court held that a municipality has no immunity from liability under
Section 1983
The Enforcement Act of 1871 (), also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, Third Enforcement Act, Third Ku Klux Klan Act, Civil Rights Act of 1871, or Force Act of 1871, is an Act of the United States Congress which empowered the President to suspend ...
flowing from its constitutional violations and may not assert the good faith of its officers as a defense to such liability.
External links
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United States Supreme Court cases
Second Enforcement Act of 1871 case law
1980 in United States case law
Independence, Missouri
United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court
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