Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati et al. (475 U.S. 469)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 25, 1986 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 475 U.S. 469 · 106 S. Ct. 1292
- Decided
- March 25, 1986
- Term
- October Term 1985
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Brennan
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Brennan delivered the opinion of the Court, except as to Part II-B. In Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Services, 436 U. S. 658 (1978), the Court concluded that municipal liability-under 42 U. S. C. § 1983 is limited to deprivations of federally protected rights caused by action taken “pursuant to official municipal policy of some nature . . . .” Id., at 691. The question presented is whether, and in what circumstances, a decision by municipal policymakers on a single occasion may satisfy this requirement. I Bertold Pembaur is a licensed Ohio physician and the sole proprietor of the Rockdale Medical Center, located in the city of Cincinnati in Hamilton County. Most of Pembaur’s patients are welfare recipients who rely on government assistance to pay for medical care. During the spring of 1977, Simon Leis, the Hamilton County Prosecutor, began investigating charges that Pembaur fraudulently had accepted payments from state welfare agencies for services not actually provided to patients. A grand jury was convened, and the case was assigned to Assistant Prosecutor William Whalen. In April, the grand jury charged Pembaur in a six-count indictment. During the investigation, the grand jury issued subpoenas for the appearance of two of Pembaur’s employees. When these employees failed to appear as directed, the Prosecutor obtained capiases for their arrest and…
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