AND · 42usc1983:x-abuse-of-governmental-power
Non-element rejected by the Supreme Court in Collins: § 1983 does not require proof of an "abuse of governmental power" separate and apart from proof of a constitutional violation.
Exact element source
to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and lawsSource:
docroot/ir/usc/title42.jsonl#title42_sec1983; Unicode character offsets [306:402] (end exclusive); SHA-256 88fe01322b9d94860a669ec452f558146e2745845070bc43583671ce12acb2bb.Routes and case patterns
| Route | Definition | Merits instance blocks | Distinct merits cases | Examples (up to 3 cases per count group) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _whole accepted; provisional (1 case) | The element is decided as a whole: the reasoning turns on no narrower doctrinal sub-question that distinguishes it from any other application of this element. | 0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1 | 0 | Used only in non-merits blocks (1). Excluded context examples:Collins v. City of Harker Heights — 503 U.S. 115 (1992) · Supreme Court of the United States · 1992 — not reached · basis not recorded (42usc1983: author: Fable · not independently reviewed) · rule-announced/merits · not counted |
How courts decided this element
| Case | Element | Holding and scope | Pattern | Exact source quotations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collins v. City of Harker Heights — 503 U.S. 115 (1992) · Supreme Court of the United States · 1992 — not reached (42usc1983: author: Fable · not independently reviewed) | Rejected extra element: separate proof of "abuse of governmental power" (Collins v. City of Harker Heights) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts rule-announced / meritsNot an element at all: the Court rejects the Fifth Circuit's proposed additional element as a matter of law and applies nothing to the facts; the claim then fails on deprivation instead. | rejected-extra-element/abuse-of-power-separate-from-constitutional-violation | It did not reach the question whether the city had violated Collins’ constitutional rights because it denied recovery on the ground that there had been no “abuse of governmental power,” which the Fifth Circuit had found to be a necessary element of a § 1983 action.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/us_503.jsonl#/us/503/0115-01; Unicode character offsets [1815:2080] (end exclusive); SHA-256 cdcb0d53dc7d297333c59be23c4699c1e9264a24434e59748ddb5fbaeb69f046.More importantly, the statute does not draw any distinction between abusive and nonabusive federal violations.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/us_503.jsonl#/us/503/0115-01; Unicode character offsets [2843:2953] (end exclusive); SHA-256 cdcb0d53dc7d297333c59be23c4699c1e9264a24434e59748ddb5fbaeb69f046.Our cases do not support the Court of Appeals reading of § 1983 as requiring proof of an abuse of governmental power separate and apart from the proof of a constitutional violation.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/us_503.jsonl#/us/503/0115-01; Unicode character offsets [2324:2505] (end exclusive); SHA-256 cdcb0d53dc7d297333c59be23c4699c1e9264a24434e59748ddb5fbaeb69f046.Neither the fact that petitioner’s decedent was a government employee nor the characterization of the city’s deliberate indifference to his safety as something other than an “abuse of governmental power” is a sufficient reason for refusing to entertain petitioner’s federal claim under § 1983.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/us_503.jsonl#/us/503/0115-01; Unicode character offsets [4389:4682] (end exclusive); SHA-256 cdcb0d53dc7d297333c59be23c4699c1e9264a24434e59748ddb5fbaeb69f046. |
Court interpretations
interpretation
More importantly, the statute does not draw any distinction between abusive and nonabusive federal violations.
Collins v. City of Harker Heights — 503 U.S. 115 (1992) · Supreme Court of the United States · 1992 (42usc1983: author: Fable · not independently reviewed)
More importantly, the statute does not draw any distinction between abusive and nonabusive federal violations.Source:
docroot/ir/caselaw/us_503.jsonl#/us/503/0115-01; Unicode character offsets [2843:2953] (end exclusive); SHA-256 cdcb0d53dc7d297333c59be23c4699c1e9264a24434e59748ddb5fbaeb69f046.Non-element rejected by the Supreme Court in Collins: § 1983 does not require proof of an "abuse of governmental power" separate and apart from proof of a constitutional violation.