What is the test for pleading for a cause of action under Title 42 of the United States Code?

The requirements for pleading for a cause of action under title 42 of the United States Code section 1983 are limited: a plaintiff must allege a deprivation of a right secured by the Constitution of the United States or federal law, and that the deprivation was committed by a person who was acting under color of state law. (West v. Atkins (1998) 487 U.S. 42, 48.) At the same time, however, the decisional law recognizes a "qualified immunity" that protects against the concern that officers may be chilled in their daily pursuit of investigations and arrests. Otherwise, any person could bring an officer into a lawsuit to extract vengeance for arrest. This qualified immunity protects officers not only against trial and judgment, but also the chilling effect that would be caused by the expense of litigation. (Harlow v. Fitzgerald (1982) 457 U.S. 800, 816819.) For these reasons, and "[c]onsistent[] with the balance [implicated in an action under title 42 of the United States Code section 1983], bare allegations of malice should not suffice to subject government officials either to the costs of trial or to the burdens of

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