<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Wikisource has original text related to this article: Monroe v. Pape </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Wikisource has original text related to this article: Monroe v. Pape </Td> </Tr> <P> Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167 (1961), was a United States Supreme Court case that considered the application of federal civil rights law to constitutional violations by city employees . The case was significant because it held that 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a statutory provision from 1871, could be used to sue state officers who violated a plaintiff's constitutional rights . § 1983 had previously been a relatively obscure and little - used statute, but since Monroe it has become a central part of United States civil rights law . </P> <P> Thirteen police officers of the City of Chicago, Illinois broke into the residence of the Monroe family . The officers roused the parents from their bed and made them stand naked in the living room while other officers ransacked every room of the house, emptying drawers and ripping mattress covers . Mr. Monroe was then taken to the police station and interrogated concerning a two - day - old murder case . He was not allowed to make any telephone calls or to contact a lawyer during his interrogation . He was not charged and was finally released . The police had not acted under authority of a search warrant or an arrest warrant when making the raid . </P>

Supreme court case that deals with section 1983 violations