## Facts

- Angelynn York went to the Chino, California police department to file charges related to an assault on her.
- Officer Ron Story, acting under color of his authority, told York photographs were necessary, took her into a police-station room, locked the door, and directed her to undress.
- Story directed York to assume various indecent positions and photographed her nude; the complaint alleged the photographs had no legitimate law-enforcement purpose.
- York objected, stating nude photographs were unnecessary to document bruises; a policewoman was available but was not asked to attend and was not present.
- Story later told York the photographs were destroyed because they did not come out, but he instead circulated them among police department personnel.
- Officers Louis Moreno and Henry Grote, acting under color of authority, used police photographic equipment to make additional prints and circulated them within the department.
- York alleged she learned of the circulation later and suffered humiliation, mental suffering, and illness requiring medical treatment.
- York sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (with jurisdiction invoked under 28 U.S.C. § 1343), seeking damages for deprivation of federally protected rights.
- The district court dismissed for failure to state a claim, concluding no federally protected right was alleged; York appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether York’s allegations that officers acted under color of law to coerce nude photographs and circulate them stated a claim for relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
2. Whether the alleged conduct could constitute a deprivation of “liberty” without due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, beyond a mere state-law tort.

## Decision

- The Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal and remanded.
- The court held the complaint adequately alleged action under color of law by police officers.
- The court held the alleged coerced photographing and circulation could constitute a deprivation of Fourteenth Amendment liberty interests and therefore stated a § 1983 claim.

## Legal Principles

- A complaint states a claim under § 1983 when it plausibly alleges (1) action under color of state law and (2) deprivation of rights secured by the Constitution or federal law.
- Fourteenth Amendment “liberty” is not limited to freedom from physical restraint; it includes certain personal privacy and dignity interests.
- A wrongful intrusion into a person’s private activities that would outrage or cause shame or humiliation to a person of ordinary sensibilities may fall within protected liberty when perpetrated under color of state authority.
- The availability of state tort remedies does not bar a § 1983 action when the pleaded facts also amount to a constitutional deprivation by state actors.

## Conclusion

The court held that allegations of a police officer’s coerced nude photography and officers’ subsequent circulation of the images, done under color of law and without legitimate purpose, can amount to a deprivation of Fourteenth Amendment liberty and therefore support a damages claim under § 1983.


York v. Story, 324 F.2d 450 (9th Cir. 1963)