Kentucky v. Graham
- Decided
- June 28, 1985
- Docket
- 84-849
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 11,385 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- holding that a government official may be held personally liable only if sued in an individual rather than official capacity — Daskalea v. District of Columbia (2000)
- holding that a suit against a person in his official capacity is to be treated as a suit against the entity — 5 Borough Pawn, LLC v. City of New York (2009)
- holding that in an official-capacity action, we require “the entity’s policy or custom [to have] played a part in the violation of federal law” — Dorcely v. Wyandanch Union Free School District (2009)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*161] Justice Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.
The question presented is whether 42 U. S. C. §1988 allows attorney’s fees to be recovered from a governmental entity when a plaintiff sues governmental employees only in their personal capacities and prevails.
I
Statutes cited
Cite this
Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159 (1985)Read the full opinion
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