What is the test for finding a municipal entity liable for failing to protect a plaintiff's constitutional right?

MultiRegion, United States of America

The following excerpt is from Valdez v. Hanford Police Larry Leeds, 1:17-CV-00430-LJO-SAB (E.D. Cal. 2019):

Specifically, for municipal liability, a plaintiff "must show that (1) she was deprived of a constitutional right; (2) the [municipality] had a policy; (3) the policy amounted to a deliberate indifference to her constitutional right; and (4) the policy was the moving force behind the constitutional violation." Mabe v. San Bernardino Cty., Dep't of Pub. Soc. Servs., 237 F.3d 1101, 1110-11 (9th Cir. 2001) (internal quotation and citation omitted). A plaintiff additionally may prove policy or custom:

Menotti v. City of Seattle, 409 F.3d 1113, 1147 (9th Cir. 2005) (international quotations and citation omitted). Finally, "a local governmental entity may be liable if it has a policy of inaction and such inaction amounts to a failure to protect constitutional rights," but only if that policy of inaction is "the result of a conscious or deliberate choice ... made from among various alternatives." Lee v. City of Los Angeles, 250 F.3d 668, 681 (9th Cir. 2001) (internal quotations and citations omitted).

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