§1983 Defense

Poole Brooke Plumlee PC attorneys are regularly called upon by local and state government to defend civil rights claims asserted under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This statute provides for a civil cause of action for violations of an individual’s constitutional rights by a state actor. Our attorneys have defended Virginia statutes and the Virginia Constitution in challenges based upon provisions of the United States Constitution such as the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses .

Oftentimes, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims are filed by prisoners and pre-trial detainees held at local jails. In Virginia, the sheriffs’ departments operate and manage local jails, and they face the daunting task of housing a growing jail population while maintaining proper security measures to protect the general public, the sheriffs’ deputies and the inmates.

Poole Brooke Plumlee’s experienced litigators routinely defend against prisoner’s claims of constitutional violations including: First Amendment right to freely exercise religious beliefs, Fourth Amendment right to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, Eighth Amendment right prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment, and the Fourteenth Amendment right to due process.