Civil Rights — No Win No Fee

What Is Section 1983?

Direct Answer: Section 1983 (42 U.S.C. § 1983) allows individuals to sue state actors who violate their constitutional rights. Civil rights attorneys often work on contingency, and fee-shifting under 42 USC § 1988 allows courts to award attorney fees to prevailing plaintiffs — making these cases financially viable.

42 U.S.C. § 1983 provides a cause of action against any person who, acting under colour of state law, deprives another of rights secured by the Constitution or federal law. Originally enacted as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, it is the most commonly used statute for challenging unconstitutional government conduct, particularly by law enforcement.

Common Civil Rights Cases

• Excessive force — use of unreasonable force by police, analysed under the Fourth Amendment (Graham v. Connor)
• Wrongful arrest/false imprisonment — arrest without probable cause
• First Amendment violations — retaliation for protected speech, assembly, or religion
• Due process violations — denial of fair procedures by government actors
• Conditions of confinement — cruel and unusual conditions in prisons and jails (Eighth Amendment)
• Racial profiling and discrimination — Equal Protection Clause violations

Qualified Immunity

Qualified immunity is a judicially created doctrine that protects government officials from civil liability unless their conduct violated "clearly established" statutory or constitutional rights that a reasonable person would have known. Courts often resolve qualified immunity at the motion-to-dismiss stage, making it a significant barrier in civil rights litigation.

Fee-Shifting Under § 1988

42 U.S.C. § 1988 authorises courts to award reasonable attorney fees to prevailing parties in civil rights cases. This provision is critical to ensuring access to justice: without fee-shifting, many civil rights cases would be economically unviable. The fee is paid by the losing defendant, separate from any damages awarded to the plaintiff.