Gary Betts, et al. v. Boone County, Illinois, et al.

In Monell v. Department of Social Services of the City of New York, this Court held that a municipality may be held liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 when the municipality itself—through officials’ execution of a municipal “policy or custom”—causes a deprivation of rights protected by the Constitution. 436 U.S. 658, 694 (1978). This Court subsequently made clear that unconstitutional actions taken by a municipality’s “final decisionmaker” constitute acts of municipal policy giving rise to municipal liability. Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 485 (1986). In the decision below, a divided Seventh Circuit panel held that a municipal official’s unconstitutional actions cannot establish official municipal policy if those actions also violated state or local law. Under this rule, such a violation operates as a categorical shield to Monell liability, insulating municipalities from responsibility for even the most blatant constitutional violations. As Judge Hamilton noted in dissent, that rule cements an acknowledged circuit split and warrants review by this Court. The question presented is whether municipal liability under Section 1983 is categorically unavailable for unconstitutional actions that also violate state or local law.