John Doe 1, et al. v. Harris County, Texas, et al.

The state-created danger doctrine allows constitutional claims against government officials as first shown in DeShaney v. Winnebago Cty. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 489 U.S. 189 (1989). Most circuits have recognized the claim as a substantive due process right under the Fourteenth Amendment but not all agree on the standards. The Fifth Circuit stands alone as the only circuit to not recognize the state-created danger doctrine. The circuits have become sharply divided since DeShaney and there stands a tacit imbalance of liability. The Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prevents the government from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. U.S. Const. amend. XIV. Harris County Sheriff’s Office employees are not at-will employees but are a civil service protected class. Employees also have protections under the law, such as qualified immunity, but would lose such protections for working below minimum jail standards mandated by law. Employees are prevented from adequately performing their essential job duties when the government purposefully underfunds and fails minimum safety standards. The questions presented are: 1. Can the public employees of a county jail join as a class to sue their employing county under 42 U.S.C. 1983 in order to force compliance, through injunctive and declaratory relief, with state