## Facts

- James Monroe, his wife, and their six children alleged that thirteen Chicago police officers entered their home early one morning without a search or arrest warrant.
- The officers allegedly forced the family from bed, made them stand naked in the living room, and searched the home extensively, including ripping mattress covers and emptying drawers.
- The officers took Monroe to the police station and detained him for roughly ten hours on “open” charges while questioning him about a recent murder.
- Monroe was not taken before a magistrate, was not allowed to contact his family or a lawyer, and was released without charges.
- The Monroes sued the officers and the City of Chicago for damages under Revised Statutes § 1979 (now 42 U.S.C. § 1983), alleging deprivations of constitutional rights secured by the Fourteenth Amendment, including Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
- The district court dismissed the complaint; the Seventh Circuit affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether officers who allegedly violated the Constitution while acting in an official capacity, but contrary to state law, acted “under color of” state law for purposes of § 1983.
2. Whether plaintiffs must exhaust state remedies before filing a § 1983 damages action in federal court.
3. Whether a municipality is a “person” subject to damages liability under § 1983.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court reversed the dismissal as to the individual officers, holding the complaint stated a claim under § 1983.
- The Court held that misuse of power possessed by virtue of state law can constitute action “under color of” state law even if the conduct is unauthorized and illegal under state law.
- The Court held that § 1983 provides a federal remedy that does not require prior resort to, or exhaustion of, state remedies.
- The Court affirmed the dismissal as to the City of Chicago, holding a municipality was not a “person” subject to damages liability under § 1983 under the statute as then interpreted.

## Legal Principles

- Action “under color of” state law under § 1983 includes an official’s abuse or misuse of authority derived from state law, even when the specific acts violate state law or the state constitution.
- Alleged unreasonable searches and seizures and abusive detention by state officers can constitute deprivations of federal rights actionable under § 1983.
- § 1983 supplies a federal remedy that is supplementary to state remedies; plaintiffs need not first seek and be denied relief in state proceedings.
- Under the statute as construed in this decision, municipalities were not “persons” liable for damages under § 1983.

## Conclusion

The Court construed § 1983 to reach unconstitutional conduct by police officers undertaken through misuse of official authority, allowed suit in federal court without exhausting state remedies, and excluded municipalities from damages liability under § 1983 as then interpreted.


Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167 (1961)