Justice Brennan, writing for a six-Justice majority of the Court, ruled that “damages may be obtained for injuries consequent upon a violation of the Fourth Amendment by federal officials.” He explained: “Historically, damages have been regarded as the ordinary remedy for an invasion of personal interests in liberty.” Further: “The very essence of civil liberty certainly consists of the right of every individual to claim the protection of the laws, whenever he receives an injury.” State laws like this one do not violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which provides that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. 747, California Senator Scott Wiener, calls it the “No Kings Act.” Protect Democracy, which wrote a model bill, calls it the “Universal Constitutional Remedies Act.” The originator of this idea, Professor Akhil Amar, calls it a “converse 1983”: instead of Congress authorizing suit against state officials for violating the U.S. Constitution, states would authorize suit against federal officials for doing the same thing.
Author: Adam Schwartz
Published at: 2026-02-04 23:15:33
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