Opinion ID: 380118
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Jurisdiction and Cause of Action

Text: 14 The district court below properly found subject matter jurisdiction under § 1331(a), 477 F.Supp. at 346, since the constitutional claim stated is not wholly insubstantial and frivolous. Bell v. Hood, supra, 327 U.S. at 682-83, 66 S.Ct. at 776; see Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc., 438 U.S. 59, 70, 98 S.Ct. 2620, 2629, 57 L.Ed.2d 595 (1978); Turpin v. Mailet, 579 F.2d 152, 155 n.3 (2d Cir.), vacated on other grounds, 439 U.S. 974, 99 S.Ct. 554, 58 L.Ed.2d 645 (1978). The court also correctly held that a cause of action existed for both declaratory and injunctive relief from the court. 477 F.Supp. at 346 & n.22, 357 n.54. Declaratory relief is expressly authorized under 28 U.S.C. § 2201. Availability of federal equitable relief to remedy constitutional violations has been presumed by the courts. Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 404, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 2008, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971) (Harlan, J., concurring). The court in Bell v. Hood, supra, stated that it is the established practice for this Court to sustain the jurisdiction of federal courts to issue injunctions to protect rights safeguarded by the Constitution . . . . Moreover, where federally protected rights have been invaded, it has been the rule from the beginning that courts will be alert to adjust their remedies so as to grant the necessary relief. 327 U.S. at 684, 66 S.Ct. at 777 (footnotes omitted); see, e. g., Davis v. Passman, 422 U.S. 228, 242-43, 99 S.Ct. 2264, 2275-2276, 60 L.Ed.2d 846 (1979); Porter v. Califano, 592 F.2d 770, 781 (5th Cir. 1979); Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 409 F.2d 718, 723 (2d Cir. 1969), rev'd and remanded on other grounds, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971). See generally Dellinger, Of Rights and Remedies: The Constitution as a Sword, 85 Harv.L.Rev. 1532, 1540-43 (1972). 3