NCJ Number
96588
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 48 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1984) Pages: 52-65
Date Published
1984
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Although supervisory liability is a new and developing area of law, in the last decade it has become a source of much civil litigation against corrections officials.
Abstract
These lawsuits are likely to increase as courts continue to probe into direct and vicarious liabilities of higher officials and as the public becomes more aware of the developing law and the advantages from the inclusion of supervisors and agencies in State or Federal liability lawsuits. Supervisors have direct and vicarious liability to clients and to subordinates under both State and Federal law. Based on State case law, liability may arise from seven general areas: negligent failure to train, negligent hiring, negligent assignment, negligent failure to supervise, negligent failure to direct, negligent entrustment, and negligent retention. The law most often invoked in liability actions in Federal jurisdictions is title 42 section 1983, which holds supervisors liable under section 1983 for personal negligent conduct which was the proximate cause of a subordinate's actionable behavior. Controversy exists regarding whether vicarious liability applies under section 1983, with cases rejecting vicarious liability usually referring to the 1971 decision in Adams v. Pate. However, many cases permit vicarious liability in a section 1983 suit. Direct liability to subpordinates is governed by several statutes. No cases have directly addressed vicarious liability to subordinates under Federal law. Supervisors need to know the legal limits of their jobs and to be more aware of what goes on among the subordinates in their department. Negligent failure to train is an area requiring immediate attention. A total of 87 footnotes are supplied.