Section 1983 litigation claims are as legally and factually complex as ever. Every official policy or conduct of state government is potentially subject to a suit on some constitutional or statutory theory of liability such as tracing the lines of authority that set forth the parameters for an illegal search and seizure claim, or examining the emerging retaliation theories brought by public employees.
A newly updated American Bar Association book, "Sword and Shield: A Practical Approach to Section 1983 Litigation, Fourth Edition" provides readers with a practical approach to Section 1983 litigation, a technically difficult and ever-evolving area of law.
Edited by Edwin P. Voss Jr and Mary Massaron, this book:
- Offers a comprehensive review of the fundamentals of Section 1983 litigation
- Examines procedural intricacies of Section 1983 litigation in federal court
- Discusses Section 1983 litigation in state court, including a discussion of state court jurisdiction, forum choice considerations and the methodology of state court Section 1983 litigation
- Reviews a defense-oriented view of municipal liability under Section 1983
- Probes police misconduct claims in the context of the complex search-and-seizure rules that police must follow under the Fourth Amendment
- Explores the constitutional rights of public employees
- Examines the Section 1983 land-use case from its inception to the Supreme Court's recent expansion of the right of property owners
- Reviews students' constitutional rights in public school settings
- Lists individual immunity defenses under Section 1983
- To assist understanding of the intricacies of Section 1983 and updates in the law since its last publication in 2006, the book contains expert analysis regarding every issue you might face in a Section 1983 case.
Edwin P. Voss, Jr., of Brown & Hofmeister, L.L.P., practices municipal law, focusing on civil rights defense, employment and Title VII defense, land use, zoning and ordinance defense, construction and personal injury. Voss has represented numerous clients in the United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas, as well as in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in addition to Texas state trial courts, Texas Courts of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court. Voss has handled §1983 litigation for local governments, special districts and government officials during the bulk of his legal career. Voss is a member of the Section of State and Local Government Law of the American Bar Association, is currently committee coordinator for the section, and is on the section's National Council. He is also chair of the State and Local Government Relations Section of the Federal Bar Association. He has served on various federal court committees. He is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, is a member of the Appellate Section of the State Bar of Texas and is also a member of the Appellate Section of the Dallas Bar Association. Voss has lectured numerous times on the subjects of §1983 liability, employment law and ethics. He has authored numerous articles concerning those same subjects, and recently published a chapter regarding immunity issues in A Defense Lawyer's Guide to Appellate Practice, published by the Defense Research Institute. He received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Baylor University.
Mary Massaron Ross, a shareholder at Plunkett & Cooney, is head of the firm's appellate practice group and has handled appeals resulting in more than 40 published opinions. She has won numerous victories before the Michigan Supreme Court for clients in the public and private sector and has handled appellate matters before the Michigan Court of Appeals, the California Court of Appeals, the Ohio Supreme Court and federal appellate courts. Massaron Ross has chaired the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Michigan and the Defense Research Institute's Appellate Advocacy Committee. She co-chairs the Michigan Appellate Bench Bar Conference Foundation and is the chair of the ABA's Standing Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs. She served on the Michigan Court of Appeals Internal Operating Procedures Task Force and was a presenter at the annual seminar for the state judiciary. She was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court Committee on Civil Jury Instructions. She earned her undergraduate degree from Marygrove College and her law degree from Wayne State University.
Published: Wed, Oct 07, 2015
