City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989)

E403308

City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989), is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that established when municipalities can be held liable under § 1983 for constitutional violations resulting from inadequate police training, adopting a “deliberate indifference” standard.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Section 1983 case ⓘ
United States Supreme Court case ⓘ
civil rights case ⓘ
municipal liability case ⓘ
appliesTo municipalities ⓘ
police departments ⓘ
training policies for law enforcement officers ⓘ
areaOfLaw civil rights law ⓘ
constitutional law ⓘ
local government law ⓘ
arguedDate 1988-11-07 ⓘ
citation 489 U.S. 378 ⓘ
citationStyle City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989) ⓘ
clarifies Monell v. Department of Social Services ⓘ
concurrenceBy Justice Anthony M. Kennedy ⓘ
linked to: Anthony M. Kennedy

Justice Antonin Scalia ⓘ
linked to: Antonin Scalia
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ
country United States ⓘ
court Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decisionDate 1989-02-28 ⓘ
docketNumber 86-1088 ⓘ
factSummary The case involved a detainee, Geraldine Harris, who alleged that the City of Canton failed to provide adequate medical attention due to inadequate police training. ⓘ
fullName City of Canton, Ohio v. Geraldine Harris ⓘ
holding A municipality can be liable under § 1983 for constitutional violations resulting from its failure to train employees only where the failure amounts to deliberate indifference to the rights of persons with whom the employees come into contact. ⓘ
importance Landmark decision defining when inadequate police training can give rise to municipal liability under § 1983. ⓘ
joinedByInMajority Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist ⓘ
Justice Antonin Scalia ⓘ
linked to: Antonin Scalia

Justice Harry A. Blackmun ⓘ
linked to: Harry A. Blackmun

Justice John Paul Stevens ⓘ
linked to: John Paul Stevens

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor ⓘ
Justice Thurgood Marshall ⓘ
linked to: Thurgood Marshall

Justice William J. Brennan Jr. ⓘ
jurisdiction federal question jurisdiction ⓘ
keyConcept failure-to-train liability ⓘ
policy or custom requirement for municipal liability ⓘ
languageOfOpinion English ⓘ
legalIssue Fourteenth Amendment due process rights ⓘ
failure to train police officers ⓘ
municipal liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ⓘ
majorityOpinionBy Justice Byron R. White ⓘ
linked to: Byron R. White
page 378 ⓘ
priorHistory Harris v. City of Canton, 725 F.2d 371 (6th Cir. 1984) ⓘ
reporter United States Reports ⓘ
requiresShowing that the need for more or different training is so obvious, and the inadequacy so likely to result in constitutional violations, that policymakers can reasonably be said to have been deliberately indifferent. ⓘ
result Judgment of the Court of Appeals vacated and case remanded. ⓘ
standardEstablished deliberate indifference ⓘ
statuteInterpreted 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ⓘ
subsequentHistory Remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ⓘ
volume 489 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

42 U.S.C. § 1983 → interpretedBy → City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989) ⓘ
City of Canton v. Harris → fullName → City of Canton, Ohio v. Geraldine Harris ⓘ
linked to: City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989)
City of Canton v. Harris → factSummary → The case involved a detainee, Geraldine Harris, who alleged that the City of Canton failed to provide adequate medical attention due to inadequate police training. ⓘ
linked to: City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989)
City of Canton v. Harris → citationStyle → City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989) ⓘ