County of Sacramento v. Lewis
- Decided
- May 26, 1998
- Docket
- 96-1337
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 6,212 timesAbrogated on other grounds (not yet verified)Possible negative treatment: abrogated on other grounds, overruled on other grounds (not yet verified) · Michelson v. Duncan
What later courts said
- holding that executive action only offends substantive due process when it is arbitrary in a constitutional sense, i.e., conscience shocking — King Ex Rel. King v. East St. Louis School District 189 (2007)
- holding that allegations that officers acted in "conscious disregard" of decedent's right to life failed to state substantive due process claim — (untitled) (1998)
- concluding that no seizure occurred where the police accidentally struck and killed a motorcyclist during a high-speed pursuit — Carlson v. Bukovic (2010)
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
[*836] Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.
The issue in this ease is whether a police officer violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of substantive due process by causing death through deliberate or reckless indifference to life in a high-speed automobile chase aimed at apprehending a suspected offender. We answer no, and hold that in such circumstances only a purpose to cause harm unrelated to the legitimate object of arrest will satisfy the element of arbitrary conduct shocking to the conscience, necessary for a due process violation.
I
Statutes cited
Cite this
County of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833 (1998)Read the full opinion
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