Religion Law Quiz #32 (42 U.S.C. § 1983 Civil action for deprivation of rights)

When a person believes that his or her First Amendment rights have been violated by a state government employee acting “under color of state law,” what is the citation for the federal statute that allows the person to bring a lawsuit to enforce his or her existing civil rights? 

 

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Answer: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Civil action for deprivation of rights

 

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.

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