Zinermon v. Burch

In Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S. 113 (1990), the United States Supreme Court clarified when it is relevant to inquire into the adequacy of state law remedies. The Zinermon Court noted: "Overlapping state remedies are generally irrelevant to the question of the existence of a cause of action under 1983. A plaintiff, for example, may bring a 1983 action for an unlawful search and seizure despite the fact that the search and seizure violated the State's Constitution or statutes, and despite the fact that there are common-law remedies for trespass and conversion. . . . "This general rule applies in a straightforward way to two of the three kinds of 1983 claims that may be brought against the State under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. First, the Clause incorporates many of the specific protections defined in the Bill of Rights. A plaintiff may bring suit under 1983 for state officials' violation of his rights to, e.g., freedom of speech or freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. Second, the Due Process Clause contains a substantive component that bars certain arbitrary, wrongful government actions 'regardless of the procedures used to implement them.' Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. at 331. As to these two types of claims, the constitutional violation actionable under 1983 is complete when the wrongful action is taken. A plaintiff, under Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167, 81 S. Ct. 473, 5 L. Ed. 2d 492 (1961) may invoke 1983 regardless of any state-tort remedy that might be available to compensate him for the deprivation of these rights. "The Due Process Clause also encompasses a third type of protection, a guarantee of fair procedure. A 1983 action may be brought for a violation of procedural due process, but here the existence of state remedies is relevant in a special sense. In procedural due process claims, the deprivation by state action of a constitutionally protected interest in 'life, liberty, or property' is not in itself unconstitutional; what is unconstitutional is the deprivation of such an interest without due process of law. The constitutional violation actionable under 1983 is not complete when the deprivation occurs; is it not complete unless and until the State fails to provide due process. Therefore, to determine whether a constitutional violation has occurred, it is necessary to ask what process the State provided, and whether it was constitutionally adequate." 494 U.S. at 124-26.