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Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232 (1974)
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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.
Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232 (1974)
Scheuer v. Rhodes No. 72-914 Argued December 4, 1973 Decided April 17, 1974 * 416 U.S. 232
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Petitioners, the personal representatives of the estates of students who were killed on the campus of a state controlled university, brought these damages actions under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Governor, the Adjutant General of the Ohio National Guard, various other Guard officers and enlisted members, and the university president, charging that those officials, acting under color of state law, "intentionally, recklessly, willfully and wantonly" caused an unnecessary Guard deployment on the campus and ordered the Guard members to perform allegedly illegal acts resulting in the students’ deaths. The District Court dismissed the complaints for lack of jurisdiction without the filing of any answer and without any evidence other than the Governor’s proclamations and brief affidavits of the Adjutant General and his assistant, holding that respondents were being sued in their official capacities, and that the actions were therefore in effect against the State, and barred by the Eleventh Amendment. The Court of Appeals affirmed on that ground and on the alternative ground that the common law doctrine of executive immunity was absolute, and barred action against respondent state officials.
Held:
1. The Eleventh Amendment does not in some circumstances bar an action for damages against a state official charged with depriving a person of a federal right under color of state law, and the District Court acted prematurely, and hence erroneously, in dismissing the complaints as it did without affording petitioners any opportunity by subsequent proof to establish their claims. Pp. 235-238.
2. The immunity of officers of the executive branch of a state government for their acts is not absolute, but qualified, and of varying degree, depending upon the scope of discretion and responsibilities of the particular office and the circumstances existing at the time the challenged action was taken. Pp. 238-249.
471 F.2d 430, reversed and remanded.
BURGER, C.J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which all Members joined except DOUGLAS, J., who took no part in the decision of the cases.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232 (1974) in 416 U.S. 232 416 U.S. 233. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=CSPF69KN48S5MVV.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232 (1974), in 416 U.S. 232, page 416 U.S. 233. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=CSPF69KN48S5MVV.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232 (1974). cited in 1974, 416 U.S. 232, pp.416 U.S. 233. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=CSPF69KN48S5MVV.
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