Appealed From: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Subjects: Due Process, Section 1983

Decision: The justices ruled unanimously that under federal civil rights law, police officers are immune from paying damages for killing or injuring someone during a high-speed chase.

• Read the full text of the County of Sacramento et al. v. Lewis decision at the Findlaw Internet Legal Resources Web site. Read the lower court decision there as well, in addition to the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

• Listen to the Sacramento v. Lewis oral argument in RealAudio at the Oyez Oyez Oyez Web site.

• Look at the pertinent civil rights provision in the U.S. Code (42 U.S.C. 1983) at the U.S. House of Representatives Internet Law Library Web site.

Sources: The Washington Post, Supreme Court, The United States Law Week (a Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. publication)