Los Angeles County, California, Petitioner v. Craig Arthur Humphries et al. (562 U.S. 29)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided November 30, 2010 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 562 U.S. 29 · 131 S. Ct. 447
- Decided
- November 30, 2010
- Term
- October Term 2010
- Vote
- 8–0
- Majority author
- Justice Breyer
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court. In Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs., 436 U. S. 658 (1978), this Court held that civil rights plaintiffs suing a municipal entity under 42 U. S. C. § 1983 must show that their injury was caused by a municipal policy or custom. The case before the Court in Monell directly involved monetary damages. The question presented is whether the “policy or custom” requirement also applies when plaintiffs seek prospective relief, such as an injunction or a declaratory judgment. We conclude that it does so apply. I The case arises out of the following circumstances: The California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 11164 et seq. (West Rev. Supp. 2010), requires law enforcement and other state agencies to investigate allegations of child abuse. These agencies must report to the California Department of Justice all instances of reported child abuse the agency finds “not unfounded,” even if they are “inconclusive or unsubstantiated.” §§ 11169(a), 11170(a)(3). The statute requires the department to include all these reports in a Child Abuse Central Index (Index), where they remain available to various state agencies for at least 10 years. § 11170(a). The statute also says that if “a report has previously been filed which subsequently proves to be unfounded, the Department of Justice shall be notified in…
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