42 USC Sec. 1983 cases

The statute reads:[1]
Every person who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, Suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.

Section 1983 essentially made equitable relief available to those whose constitutional rights had been violated by an actor acting under State or Federal Authority. Normally constitutional rights violations are remedied by specific performance including injunctions by the courts. For example, if a person’s right to due process was violated by a prison guard who was said to be acting under the authority of the state, then that person could bring suit for monetary damages against the prison guard. Without Section 1983, that person would have to seek an injunction by the courts for the due process violation. The problem with such an action by the court is that injunctions cannot apply to past harm, only future harm. So, essentially the person would have an actionable cause-the constitutional violation-with no adequate remedy. Most Section 1983 claims are brought against prison officials by prisoners, but prisoner claims are usually dismissed as being without merit. Claims can be brought by anyone stating a proper cause of action.

Article Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1871