Board of Comm'rs of Bryan Cty. v. Brown (1996)
- Docket
- 95-1100
- Decided
- 1996-01-01
Summary
Question: May municipalities be held liable for hiring employees who injure someone? Conclusion: No. In a 5-4 decision, authored by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the Court ruled that municipalities are not liable for hiring employees who violate someone's rights unless a reasonable policymaker would conclude that the "plainly obvious consequence . . . would be the deprivation of a third party's federally protected rights. Thus, the county was not financially liable for Sheriff Moore's isolated decision to hire Burns without adequate screening because Brown had not proved that the decision reflected a conscious disregard for a risk that Burns would use excessive force in violation of her federally protected rights.