Civil Rights (42 USC §§ 1983 and 1985)

Claims brought under 42 USC §§1983 and 1985 against government employees and agencies fall outside the governmental immunity protection for tort claims brought under state law. These cases allege that a government employee or agency violated the plaintiff's civil and constitutional rights under "color of state law."

The constitutional rights allegedly violated generally include the protection of the Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable search and seizures, the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment to due process of law, and the protection of the First Amendment to freedom of speech and freedom of association. These claims are most frequently filed by third-parties against police officers and governmental agencies for police misconduct and by employees against the governmental agency that employs them alleging wrongful discharge or harassment as retaliation for an employee's exercise of his right of freedom of speech and freedom of association.