Opinion ID: 1704806
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: South Dakota Department Of Corrections.

Text: The trial court properly granted summary judgment to Department. Under clear and binding federal precedent, a State is not a person within the meaning of § 1983. Will v. Michigan Dep't of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 64, 109 S.Ct. 2304, 2308, 105 L.Ed.2d 45, 53 (1989). Section 1983 provides a federal forum to remedy many deprivations of civil liberties, but it does not provide a federal forum for litigants who seek a remedy against a State for alleged deprivations of civil liberties. Id. at 66, 109 S.Ct. at 2309, 105 L.Ed.2d at 55. Department was entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.