Volume 53, Issue 1

November 2026

  • Article

    When Washington Won’t Answer: The Case for State Civil Rights Enforcement Against Federal Officers

    by
    David Schultz

    The traditional framework for vindicating federal constitutional rights through litigation has long rested on two pillars: the implied damages remedy recognized in Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, available against federal officials, and the statutory cause of action codified at 42 U.S.C. ยง 1983, available against state and local officials. Both mechanisms are premised on…