Opinion ID: 2971766
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: State Constitution Claims

Text: Radvansky also brought claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Appellees for violation of his rights established under the Ohio constitution. Section 1983 creates a civil action against any person who subjects “any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws.” 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Section 1983 codified the Civil Rights Act of 1871, the purpose of which was “to enforce the provisions of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States.” Monell, 436 U.S. at 665 (quoting H.R. 320). The Civil Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment, were passed following the end of the Civil War to ensure that the rights of citizens secured by the federal Constitution were upheld by all the states. Neither the Act nor the Amendment addresses the rights secured to citizens by the individual state constitutions. Accordingly, a claimed violation of a state constitutional right is not cognizable under § 1983. See Benn v. Universal Health Sys., Inc., 371 F.3d 165, 174 (3d Cir. 2004) (“Section 1983 does not provide a cause of action for violations of state statutes.”); Malek v. Haun, 26 F.3d 1013, 1016 (10th Cir. 1994) (holding that a violation of a state constitutional right does not give rise to a federal cause of action under § 1983); Bills v. Henderson, 631 F.2d 1287, 1298-99 (6th Cir. 1980) (concluding that violation of a state procedural rule is not actionable in a § 1983 suit). Therefore, the district court’s grant of summary judgment on these two counts is affirmed.