Sword and Shield: A Practical Approach to Section 1983 Litigation

This fifth edition of Sword & Shield: A Practical Approach to Section 1983 Litigation is substantially reorganized to provide practitioners with easier access to the information they need as they are handling civil rights claims. As in prior editions, the authors provide a timely analysis of practical considerations necessary to practice effectively in this technically difficult and ever-evolving area of law. The chapters are now more tightly focused to provide a roadmap for handling civil rights litigation under § 1983. Topics covered are:

• A Comprehensive review of the fundamentals of Section 1983 litigation into state court, including a discussion of state court jurisdiction, forum choice considerations, the methodology of state court Section 1983 litigation, and more;
• Procedural intricacies of Section 1983 litigation in federal court identifying ripeness, forum choice, and removal, and more;
• A defense-oriented view of municipal liability under Section 1983;
• Police misconduct claims in the context of the complex search and seizure rules that police must follow under the Fourth Amendment;
• The constitutional rights of public employees;
• The Section 1983 land use case from its inception to the Supreme Court’s recent expansion of the right of property owners;
• Students’ constitutional rights in public school settings; and
• Individual immunity defenses under Section 1983.

Mary is a past president of DRI - The Voice of the Defense Bar. She is a past chair of the ABA Section of State and Local Government Law. She is Immediate Past President of the Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ) and currently chairs its Class Action Reform Committee. In addition to being a recognized leader of the defense bar, Mary’s skill as an appellate lawyer has been nationally recognized. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, a member of the American Law Institute (ALI), and has served as chair of the ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers (CAL), a division of the Appellate Judges Conference, the ABA TIPS Appellate Advocacy Committee, and the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Michigan. A regular before the Michigan Supreme Court where she served as law clerk to Justice Patricia J. Boyle, she chairs the Advocates Guild of the Michigan Supreme Court and served as co-chair of the Michigan Appellate Bench Bar Conference Foundation for over twenty years. She has handled significant appeals in state and federal appellate courts for governmental and private clients including representing property owners before the Michigan Supreme Court in Hathcock v County of Wayne to overturn decades-old precedent involving condemnation, establishing the retroactivity of dealer statute amendments before the Michigan Supreme Court, and overturning multi-million dollar judgments on appeal. Mary is co-editor of Sword and Shield Revisited:  a Practical Approach to Section 1983 Litigation.