Seventh Circuit Section 1983 Cases

Miranda v. County of Lake

900 F.3d 335 (7th Cir. 2018) · Aug 10, 2018

The court clarified the standard for municipal liability under Monell, holding that a county could be liable under § 1983 for maintaining a widespread practice of excessive force where the practice was so pervasive that it constituted a de facto policy, and that private medical providers contracted by the county could not be shielded from § 1983 liability simply because they were not government employees.

Baird v. Renbarger

576 F.3d 340 (7th Cir. 2009) · Aug 3, 2009

The Seventh Circuit held that an officer who used excessive force during a traffic stop — including slamming a compliant suspect's head into a car — was not entitled to qualified immunity because the right to be free from gratuitous force during a seizure was clearly established.

Lawrence v. Kenosha County

391 F.3d 837 (7th Cir. 2004) · Dec 2, 2004

The Seventh Circuit held that an officer's use of a chokehold and other physical force against a compliant arrestee was objectively unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment, and that qualified immunity did not protect the officer because the right to be free from gratuitous force was clearly established.