Constitutional Tort Law and Legal Definition
Constitutional torts are violation of one's constitutional rights by a government servant. Constitutional tort actions are brought under 42 USCS § 1983 against government employees seeking damages for the violation of federal constitutional right, particularly those arising under the Fourteenth Amendment and the Bill of Rights.
42 USCS § 1983 reads as follows:
“Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the U.S. or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable.”
