Basic HTML Version
Police Misconduct
Associate Dean Karen Blum,
3 credits day; 3 credits evening. This course concentrates on Section 1983 actions arising from
alleged violations of constitutional rights by persons acting under color of state law. We spend
considerable time on Fourth and Fourteenth amendment rights that may be enforced through
Section 1983. We also address issues of qualified immunity, municipal and supervisory liability
and racial profiling. During the course of the semester, there will be two or three classes where
outside speakers with expertise in certain areas make presentations and direct discussions of
certain topics with the class. There is no text for the course. Assigned cases are downloaded from
westlaw. Students have an option of taking a final exam or doing a project with a practicing
attorney. The details of the project option are discussed in class, but generally the project will
culminate with a written product of 10-15 pages. This may be a motion for summary judgment, a
memo, a complaint or whatever the attorney needs for that particular case. Heavy emphasis is
placed on class attendance, preparation and participation, and class participation can result in a
―bump‖ up in grade. I use TWEN and make PowerPoint slides available to students.
This course will focus primarily on police misconduct litigation under 42 U.S.C. section 1983.
Materials for the course will include recent federal cases on racial profiilng, excessive force,
high-speed pursuits, use of canine units, police response to incidents of domestic violence and
failure to provide police protection. There will be extensive examination of the problems
encountered in establishing, as well as defending against, claims asserting individual officer
liability and supervisory or municipal liability based on inadequate screening, training or
disciplining. Considerable attention will be given to the particular defense of qualified immunity
for individual officers and its application in various contexts.
Elective Course
Meets Civil Litigation Concentration Requirements
Final Exam or Project Required