To be clearly established, the law must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right. It is not necessary that the alleged act have been previously declared unconstitutional, as long as the unlawfulness was apparent in light of preexisting law.
First, the plaintiff may prove that a city employee committed the alleged constitutional violation pursuant to a formal governmental policy or a longstanding practice or custom which constitutes the standard operating procedure of the local governmental entity. Second, the plaintiff may establish that the individual who committed the constitutional tort was an official with final policy-making authority and that the challenged action itself thus constituted an act of official governmental policy. Whether a particular official has final policy-making authority is a question of state law. Third, the plaintiff may prove that an official with final policy-making authority ratified a subordinate's unconstitutional decision or action and the basis for it.
(1) the issue at stake must be identical to the one alleged in the prior litigation; (2) the issue must have been actually litigated [by the party against whom preclusion is asserted] in the prior litigation; and (3) the determination of the issue in the prior litigation must have been a critical and necessary part of the judgment in the earlier action.
We have recognized in the past that private attorneys often charge lower rates to the government because of counterbalancing benefits such as repeat business, and [w]here the facts show this, the fee charged by a government attorney is simply irrelevant to the establishment of a reasonable hourly rate for a plaintiff's civil rights lawyer.
(1) it wins on the merits of its claim, (2) the relief it receives materially alters the legal relationship between the parties by modifying the defendant's behavior, and (3) the relief directly benefits the plaintiff.
End of Document | © 2024 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. |