Color of Law

Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Wikipedia.

Color of Law

The appearance of a legal right.

The act of a state officer, regardless of whether or not the act is within the limits of his or her authority, is considered an act under color of law if the officer purports to be conducting himself or herself in the course of official duties.

Under the civil rights act of 1871 (42 U.S.C.A. Section 1983), color of law is synonymous with State Action, which is conduct by an officer that bears a sufficiently close nexus to a state so that the action is treated as though it is by the state.

Cross-references

Ku Klux Klan Act.

color of law

n. the appearance of an act being performed based upon legal right or enforcement of statute, when in reality no such right exists. An outstanding example is found in the civil rights acts which penalize law enforcement officers for violating civil rights by making arrests "under color of law" of peaceful protestors or to disrupt voter registration. It could apply to phony traffic arrests in order to raise revenue from fines or extort payoffs to forget the ticket.

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

It is the least-developed part of The Color of Law.

State-enforced segregation and the color of justice

Moreover, to the extent that plaintiffs continue to press their TVPA claims against Saleh Abdullah Kamel, we agree with the District Court that these claims must be dismissed because plaintiffs do not allege that he acted under color of law.

In case involving New York terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Second Circuit holds that no universal norm against "terrorism" existed at the time of the attacks, and that the Tort Victim Protection Act (TVPA) only provides liability for natural persons

84) The Second Circuit concluded that a private cause of action under the ATS could proceed as long as the private individual or organization "acted in concert with" the state actor under the color of law.

Abdullahi v. Pfizer: Second Circuit finds a nonconsensual medical experimentation claim actionable under Alien Tort Statute

2005) ("Grafting [section] 1983 color of law analysis onto international law claims would be an end-run around the accepted principle that most violations of international law can be committed only by states.

State action and corporate human rights liability

3d at 1316 ("Under the Alien Tort Statute, state actors are the main objects of the law of nations, but individuals may be liable, under the law of nations, for some conduct, such as war crimes, regardless of whether they acted under color of law of a foreign nation.

The Alien Tort Statute and the limits of individual accountability in international law

It does not matter if the person doing the intimidation is acting under color of law or not.

Pat Boone was right

Furthermore, even private citizens are viable defendants in a [section] 242 prosecution if they act in concert with government officials acting under color of law.

Double exposure: civil liability and criminal prosecution in federal court for police misconduct

Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, at 18 USC section 2511(c), provides, "It shall not be unlawful under this chapter for a person acting under color of law to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication, where such person is a party to the communication or one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception.

Federal wiretapping evidence admissible though barred by state law: evidence gathered in a joint federal-state investigation is admissible in state court if it complies with federal, though not state, eavesdropping law

law only when committed by state officials or under color of law, the

The Alien Torts Statute and the search for energy in difficult political environments

In determining whether an entity or person is shielded from liability by this federal color of law statute, the U.

Recent legal decision could impact private corrections

Donziger also says that contracts between oil firms and the Ecuadorian military are letting companies spy on Ecuadorian citizens under the color of law.

Big oil on trial: in the Ecuadorian rainforest, Cherron is charged as a major polluter

Shiite Muslim militia members have infiltrated Iraq's police force and are carrying out sectarian killings under the color of law," the Los Angeles Times reported on November 29.