Perhaps the most important decision to be made in a
police misconduct case is: which jurisdiction should it
proceed—state or federal court? In addition to legal issues,
there are some very practical questions to be considered.
For instance, in an action against a local police authority,
will the judge in a state court have closer ties to the local
constabulary? Will the African American client be better
served in a Civil Rights Action in a federal court by jurors
drawn from a wider pool or in a state court from a smaller
pool of jurors drawn from an urban area?
This chapter explores the legal and practical
considerations that will influence a litigant’s decision to file
the case in state or federal court.
A. Legal Considerations
Decisions of the United States Supreme Court have
made both the federal and state court equally accessible to
the plaintiff in police misconduct cases. (Felder v. Casey,
487 U.S. 131, 108 S.Ct. 2302, 101 L.Ed.2d 123 (1988);
Maine v. Thiboutot, 448 U.S. 1, 100 S.Ct. 2502, 65
L.Ed.2d. 555 (1980)) This means that in most cases, a
victim of police misconduct will have a choice to bring his
or her case in either state or federal court. This is true
whether or not the claim is based on a common law tort
action or the federal civil rights law.
There are, however, some instances where state court
will be the only option.