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Logue v. United States, 412 U.S. 521 (1973)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Logue v. United States, 412 U.S. 521 (1973)
Logue v. United States No. 72-656 Argued April 24, 1973 Decided June 11, 1973 412 U.S. 521
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Petitioners, claiming that their son’s suicide while he was confined as a federal prisoner in a county jail was proximately caused by the negligence of Government agents and employees, brought suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which establishes Government liability for negligent acts or omissions of an "employee of the Government," defined, inter alia, as a person officially "acting on behalf of a federal agency . . . with or without compensation." The Act excludes any contractor with the United States from the definition of federal agency. Though finding that the county had contracted with the Federal Government to house federal prisoners in its jail, the District Court held that the Government was liable on the grounds that the sheriff’s employees negligently failed to maintain adequate surveillance of the decedent (who had attempted suicide while initially incarcerated), and that the Deputy United States Marshal negligently failed specifically to arrange for constant surveillance. The Court of Appeals reversed on the grounds that, under the "contractor" exclusion, the United States was not accountable for the negligence of the sheriff’s employees, and those employees were not acting on behalf of a federal agency in an official capacity within the meaning of the Act.
Held:
1. The Court of Appeals correctly concluded that, contrary to petitioners’ contention, the deputy marshal had no authority to control the activities of the sheriff’s employees, and that the jail was a "contractor," not a "Federal agency," within the meaning of the Act; and the statutory authorization for the housing of federal prisoners in state facilities clearly contemplated that the day-to-day operation of the contractor’s facilities was to be in the contractor’s, not the Government’s, hands. Pp. 526-530.
2. Petitioners’ alternative contention that, even though the sheriff’s employees might not be "employees" of a federal agency, they might nonetheless be "acting on behalf of a Federal agency in an official capacity," and thus "employee[s] of the Government" within the meaning of the Act, is not consistent with the legislative purpose of the Act. Pp. 530-532.
3. The Court of Appeals, not having given consideration to the question of the deputy marshal’s negligence apart from other issues, should address itself to that question on remand. Pp. 532-533.
459 F.2d 408 and 463 F.2d 1340, vacated and remanded.
REHNQUIST, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. STEWART and MARSHALL, JJ., filed a separate statement.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Logue v. United States, 412 U.S. 521 (1973) in 412 U.S. 521 412 U.S. 522. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=99R1T99STCV2J6D.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Logue v. United States, 412 U.S. 521 (1973), in 412 U.S. 521, page 412 U.S. 522. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=99R1T99STCV2J6D.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Logue v. United States, 412 U.S. 521 (1973). cited in 1973, 412 U.S. 521, pp.412 U.S. 522. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=99R1T99STCV2J6D.
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