Municipal Liability and 42 U.S.C. § 1983: Volume 1

THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze and discuss issues surrounding municipal liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Volume 1 of the casebook covers the District of Columbia Circuit and the First through the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. * * * Although § 1983 subjects only "person[s]" to liability, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Monell established that "a municipality [such as the City of New York] is a person within the meaning of Section 1983," Vives v. City of New York, 524 F.3d 346, 350 (2d Cir. 2008). To establish liability under Monell, a plaintiff must show that he suffered the denial of a constitutional right that was caused by an official municipal policy or custom. See Wray v. City of New York, 490 F.3d 189, 195 (2d Cir. 2007). * * * Monell liability attaches only where an infringement of constitutional rights is caused by a local government policy. See Outlaw v. Hartford, 884 F.3d 351, 372-73 (2d Cir. 2018). In searching for the proper local government that is subject to liability on a given Monell claim we look for "those official or governmental bodies who speak with final policymaking authority ... concerning the action alleged to have caused the particular ... violation at issue." Jett v. Dallas Ind. Sch. Dist., 491 U.S. 701, 737, 109 S.Ct. 2702, 105 L.Ed.2d 598 (1989). Bellamy v. City of New York, 914 F. 3d 727 (2nd Cir. 2019)