Owen v. City of Independence

Owen v. City of Independence, 445 U.S. 622 (1980), was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court, in which the court held that a municipality has no immunity from liability under Section 1983 flowing from its constitutional violations and may not assert the good faith of its officers as a defense to such liability.

Owen v. City of Independence
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 8, 1980 Decided April 16, 1980
Full case name	Owen v. City of Independence, Missouri, et al.
Citations	445 U.S. 622 (more) 100 S. Ct. 1398; 63 L. Ed. 2d 673; 1980 U.S. LEXIS 14
Case history
Subsequent	Petition for rehearing denied June 2, 1980
Holding
A municipality has no immunity from liability under Section 1983 flowing from its constitutional violations and may not assert the good faith of its officers as a defense to such liability.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Thurgood Marshall Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr. William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
Majority	Brennan, joined by White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens
Dissent	Powell, joined by Burger, Stewart, Rehnquist

Background

The city council voted to fire the city's chief of police and in doing so, violated his procedural due process rights to a pre-termination hearing. Plaintiff named the city and city council in the suit.

Opinion of the Court

In an opinion written by Justice Brennan, the Court held that a municipality has no immunity from liability under Section 1983 flowing from its constitutional violations and may not assert the good faith of its officers as a defense to such liability.

External links

• Text of Owen v. City of Independence, 445 U.S. 622 (1980) is available from: Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)