The Critical Screening Choice: How to Assess Civil-Rights Cases Before You Commit Hundreds of Hours and Costs

This opening session establishes why civil rights litigation differs fundamentally from personal injury work, exploring the profound impact when government actors violate constitutional rights. Participants will learn the foundational legal framework including Fourth, Fourteenth, First, and Eighth Amendment claims, plus key intake considerations for rapid issue spotting.

This session maps factual scenarios to legal claims including excessive force, illegal stops, arrests, searches, and malicious prosecution. Participants will examine the objective reasonableness standard from Graham v. Connor and Tennessee v. Garner, along with critical intake considerations like statutes of limitations and the Heck v. Humphrey bar.

This session addresses the unique challenges of prisoner litigation, including the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s exhaustion requirements and physical injury limitations. Participants will learn constitutional standards for jail versus prison claims, including suicide cases, use of force, failure to protect, and medical care access claims.

This session explores how to hold municipalities accountable when constitutional violations flow from patterns, practices, or policies under Monell v. Department of Social Services. Participants will examine modes of municipal liability including failure to train, discipline, and supervise, plus strategies for developing theories that survive dispositive motions.

This session covers why expert selection matters and how to find the right experts for police practices, damages, and Monell claims. Participants will learn to engage experts early in case development and understand how their analysis helps formulate trial theory and craft effective deposition questions.

This session examines claims against federal agents, including the Supreme Court’s severe limitations on Bivens claims and when FTCA provides an alternative avenue. Participants will learn about choosing defendants, administrative exhaustion requirements, and how these cases are being litigated in current federal enforcement contexts.

A brief intermission allowing participants to refresh before the remaining sessions. Use this time to review notes and prepare questions for upcoming topics.

This session tackles qualified immunity’s two-prong test and the clearly established standard that presents significant barriers to civil rights claims. Participants will also examine absolute prosecutorial and judicial immunities, state law immunity variations, and strategies for surviving interlocutory appeals.

This session covers economic and non-economic damages, punitive damages against individual defendants, and injunctive relief options in civil rights cases. Participants will learn when to budget for medical and psychological experts, plus strategies for settlement negotiations and sanity-checking prior verdicts.

This session addresses the economic realities of civil rights practice, including Section 1988 fee-shifting, lodestar calculations, and budgeting for experts and discovery. Participants will learn triage strategies for small firms and solo practitioners, plus options for co-counsel arrangements and litigation funding.

This session emphasizes trauma-informed practice, recognizing that clients harmed by government actors require sensitive handling throughout litigation. Participants will learn to navigate memory limitations, capture initial narratives effectively, and balance the retraumatizing aspects of litigation against the vindication clients seek.

This session covers immediate evidence demands including body-worn camera footage, surveillance video, and dispatch logs that must be preserved within 24-48 hours. Participants will learn spoliation risk management, drafting preservation letters, and strategies for witness triage and handling reluctant witnesses.

This final session prepares participants to anticipate defense motions targeting immunities and Monell claims at every litigation stage. Participants will examine how ongoing criminal prosecutions and plea bargains affect civil claims, plus strategies for managing media exposure and narrative framing.