Legal Liabilities (From Briefs of 100 Leading Cases in Law Enforcement, P 193-203, 1991, Rolando V. del Carmen, Jeffrey T. Walker -- See NCJ-126275)

• NCJ Number: 126294
• Author(s): R V del Carmen; J T Walker
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 11 pages
• Sale Source: Anderson Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Supreme Court decisions concerning legal liabilities are analyzed for their significance to law enforcement.

Abstract

In the case Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982), the Court determined that government officials performing discretionary functions are not guaranteed absolute immunity but instead enjoy only qualified immunity. Police officers enjoy absolute immunity from civil liability when testifying, even if the testimony is perjured, according to Briscoe v. LaHue, 460 U.S. 325 (1983). In City of Canton v. Harris, 109 S.Ct. 1197 (1989), the Court found that inadequate police training may serve as the basis for municipal liability, but only if the failure to train amounts to deliberate indifference to the rights of persons with whom the police come into contact and the deficiency in the training program is closely related to the injury suffered. Neither the State nor State officials acting in their official capacity may be sued under Section 1983 in a State court, as stated in Will v. Michigan Department of State Police, 109 S.Ct. 2304 (1989).