Brentley Smith
83 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 273
Currently, the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence as to § 1983 preclusion by
federal statutes has lead to varying results in application amongst the federal
district and circuit courts. The confusion has lead to an incentive for plaintiffs
to bring additional claims under § 1983, which can lead to circumvention of
tailored statutory programs designed by Congress. Additionally, defendants
have incentives to stretch out litigation using preclusion defenses, which may
adversely affect plaintiffs’ ability to recover just compensation. This has lead,
and will likely continue to lead, to a lack of uniformity within federal law,
which will perpetuate unpredictability and horizontal inequity—similarly situated
litigants in different jurisdictions have been and will continue to be subjected
to disparate legal requirements. Any efforts to refine the Supreme
Court jurisprudence will still leave the possibility of litigation on a case-by-case
basis for every cause of action under every federal statute. As such, this is
an area of the law where Congress could and should act to stem the confusion.
This Note argues that, in order to restore uniformity, predictability, and
horizontal equity to the federal vindication of civil rights, Congress should
amend § 1983 such that it only (1) provides a cause of action for violations of
federal constitutional rights (2) where no other federal cause of action exists.
This amendment to § 1983 would result in a coherent § 1983 preclusion doctrine
that leads to consistent results, prevents plaintiffs from bringing repetitive
claims, discourages defendants from needlessly protracting litigation, and preserves
comprehensive remedial schemes crafted by Congress. Additionally,
the proposed amendment would preserve the original statute’s focus on vindicating
civil rights violations and providing a neutral federal forum in which to
do so.
