Case Citator › Monroe v. Pape

Monroe v. Pape

Is it still good law? What later courts have actually done to this case.

Overruled in part
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Citation
365 U.S. 167
Decided
Confirmed treatments
2
Flagged citations read
702 of 702
Citing cases (total)
4,772
Treatment dates
1974–1978
Overruled in part
A reviewed court has overruled part of this case’s holding. The 2 confirmed treatments are listed below. Monell v. New York City Department of Social Services (Supreme Court of the United States, 1978) overruled Monroe v. Pape only as to municipal immunity under Section 1983; Samuel v. University of Pittsburgh (W.D.
More on how this was screened

Pa., 1974) had criticized that municipal-person analysis as unclear. All 702 flagged citations have been read. The other opinions applied Monroe's under-color-of-law and supplementary-remedy rules, rejected arguments that later cases silently overruled them, or merely reported Monell's partial overruling.

Every treatment on this page is written from the citing opinion itself, with a verbatim quote, never copied from a commercial citator. A citation flagged by our screen but not shown here was read and found not to weaken this case.

4,772 later cases cite Monroe v. Pape; 702 of those citations sat close to treatment language and were flagged for reading, and all of them have been read. Citations that did not sit near treatment language were not flagged and were not read one by one, so a court that weakened this case without using any of that language would not appear here.

Relying on Monroe v. Pape?

This page shows what later courts did to it. Ask about your specific facts and see whether it still carries your argument, with citations you can check.

Treatments

Overruled in part

  • The Supreme Court overruled Monroe only insofar as it held local governments wholly immune from suit and outside the meaning of “person” under Section 1983.

    Monell v. New York City Department of Social Services · Supreme Court of the United States · filed

    That other day has come and we now overrule Monroe v. Pape, supra, insofar as it holds that local governments are wholly immune from suit under § 1983.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

Criticized

  • The court criticized Monroe's municipal-person analysis as unclear and as producing splits of authority and judicial confusion.

    Samuel v. University of Pittsburgh · W.D. Pa. · filed

    In the years since Monroe v. Pape was handed down, it has been severely criticized, … but it has not been overruled. Its primary effect seems to have been to cause splits of authority and judicial confusion over what constitutes a person under the statute. … The conflicts which have arisen as a result of the Monroe v. Pape decision are probably the result of an inherent lack of clarity in the decision.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

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