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Hold government actors and law enforcement accountable for constitutional violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Learn how to preserve evidence, file citizen complaints, overcome qualified immunity, and meet government tort claims act deadlines.
Option 0: How to Build a Bulletproof Record for $0
Winning a civil rights or police misconduct claim requires rigorous documentation and meeting short administrative deadlines. You can secure all initial evidence yourself before hiring counsel.
Send an Immediate Spoliation Letter
Draft a formal letter demanding the preservation of: all officer bodycam video, dashcam footage, taser download logs, CAD dispatch logs, and cell phone video from bystanders.
Go to an emergency room or physician immediately. Instruct the doctor to photograph all lacerations, taser puncture marks, and bruises, and ensure the medical chart records that injuries resulted from police physical force.
Obtain your city or county's official 'Claim for Damages to Person or Property' form. Complete and file it with the City Clerk via certified mail within the statutory 6-month window.
Request the department's internal Use of Force policy, disciplinary records for the involved officers (where permitted by state transparency laws), and incident reports.
City and county government claim forms are free from the City Clerk or County Board of Supervisors. Filing a claim preserves your right to sue.
Understanding 42 U.S.C. § 1988: Why Civil Rights Lawyers Work on Contingency
Civil rights victims rarely have $25,000 to pay an hourly lawyer to sue a police department. Congress recognized this and enacted 42 U.S.C. § 1988 (The Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act).
Under Section 1988, if you prevail in a civil rights lawsuit, the defendant municipality or state MUST pay your attorney's reasonable hourly fees on top of any monetary damages awarded to you.
Because of this statute, reputable civil rights attorneys take meritorious excessive force, unlawful search, and First Amendment retaliation cases on full contingency with zero upfront retainer fees.
Do I have the legal right to film police officers in public?
Yes. Every federal appellate circuit that has addressed this issue has confirmed that individuals have a clearly established First Amendment right to record police officers performing their official duties in public places, as long as you do not physically obstruct or interfere with the officers' actions.
What is 'Qualified Immunity' and why does it matter?
Qualified immunity is a judicial doctrine that shields government officials (including police officers) from civil liability unless their conduct violated 'clearly established statutory or constitutional rights' of which a reasonable person would have known. Overcoming qualified immunity requires proving not just that the officer's action was wrong, but that prior legal precedent clearly warned them it was illegal.
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