Madgett LawMinneapolis · Minnesota

Civil Rights

Minneapolis civil rights attorney handling excessive force, false arrest, and jail medical care claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Minnesota law. Message us for a consultation.

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When government power is used against you, the rules are different — and mostly they favor the government.

A civil rights case is not an ordinary injury case. The defendant is a government actor, the defenses are immunities that do not exist anywhere else in the law, and several of the most important deadlines run before most people have finished dealing with what happened to them.

From our office in the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis, we bring civil rights claims in Minnesota state and federal court.

What We Handle

  • Excessive force, including deadly force, restraint, and in-custody death claims.
  • False arrest and malicious prosecution, where probable cause is usually the whole fight.
  • First Amendment retaliation, including arrests following the recording or criticism of officers.
  • Denial of medical care in jail, brought as a deliberate indifference claim.
  • Municipal liability against a city for its own policy, custom, or failure to train.
  • Discrimination in housing, public accommodations, and employment under the Minnesota Human Rights Act and its federal counterparts.

Three Things Worth Knowing Early

There are two tracks, and they have different rules. A federal claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and a Minnesota state-law claim arising from the same incident carry different immunities, different deadlines, and different damages ceilings — municipal liability on a state-law claim is capped at $500,000 per claimant for claims arising on or after July 1, 2009. Minn. Stat. § 466.04, subd. 1(a)(3). Choosing only one track, or discovering the other too late, is a common and expensive mistake.

Notice can be due in 180 days. For a state-law claim against a municipality, Minn. Stat. § 466.05, subd. 1, generally requires written notice to the governing body within 180 days after the loss or injury is discovered — one year where the claim is for wrongful death. That is a fraction of the limitations period, and missing it can end the state-law claim regardless of its merit.

Evidence disappears on a schedule. Body camera and squad video are subject to statutory retention periods under Minn. Stat. § 13.825, and the shortest of them run in months. A preservation demand made early is frequently worth more to a case than anything done later.

What To Do Now

Write down what happened while you remember it, including names, badge numbers, times, and witnesses. Photograph injuries as they heal, not just once. Get medical attention and follow through with it. Request the records that exist — incident reports, medical records from the jail, and any recording. Do not give a statement about a pending criminal charge without talking to counsel first, because the criminal case and the civil claim interact in ways that are easy to get wrong.

How We Work

We evaluate honestly, including about the defenses. Qualified immunity and the limits of municipal liability defeat claims that deserve better, and a client is entitled to hear that at the start rather than after two years of litigation. Where a claim should be brought, we prepare it as though it will be tried.

Sources verified against the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes: § 609.066 (authorized use of deadly force by peace officers, subd. 2(a)); § 466.04 (maximum liability, subd. 1(a)(3)); § 466.05 (notice of claim, subds. 1 and 2); § 541.05 (six-year limitation, subd. 1(5)); § 13.825 (portable recording systems). Federal: 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1988. Anderson v. City of Minneapolis, 934 F.3d 876 (8th Cir. 2019).

This page is general information about Minnesota and federal law, not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Deadlines, immunities, and damages limits turn on facts specific to each case. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Common questions

How long do I have to bring a police misconduct claim in Minnesota?

It depends on which claim. Section 1983 has no limitations period of its own, so federal courts borrow the forum state's general personal injury statute — in Minnesota, the six-year period of Minn. Stat. § 541.05, subd. 1(5). See Anderson v. City of Minneapolis, 934 F.3d 876, 880 (8th Cir. 2019). State-law claims are a different matter and can be far shorter, and a state-law claim against a municipality generally requires written notice to the governing body within 180 days after the loss is discovered under Minn. Stat. § 466.05, subd. 1. Because the tracks run on different clocks, the safe assumption is that something is due sooner than six years.

What is qualified immunity, and does it end my case?

Qualified immunity shields an individual officer from damages unless the conduct violated a constitutional right that was clearly established at the time. In practice that usually means a plaintiff must identify a reasonably close prior case putting the specific conduct beyond debate. It is resolved early, before trial, and an order denying it is immediately appealable. It does not apply to municipalities themselves, and it does not apply to state-law claims, which is one reason the two tracks are often pleaded together.

Does Minnesota law set a stricter use-of-force standard than the Constitution?

In its terms, yes. The Fourth Amendment asks whether force was objectively reasonable. Minn. Stat. § 609.066, subd. 2(a), permits deadly force only if an objectively reasonable officer would believe it necessary, and it adds a three-part threat test — the threat must be capable of articulation with specificity, reasonably likely to occur absent action, and one that must be addressed without unreasonable delay. Section 609.066 is a criminal justification statute, so how it bears on a civil claim is a separate question, but the standards are not the same and a single incident can be measured against both.

Can I get the body camera footage?

Often, though not always and not always quickly. Portable recording system data is governed by Minn. Stat. § 13.825, which classifies most of it as private or nonpublic while making certain recordings public — including data documenting the discharge of a firearm in the course of duty or the use of force resulting in substantial bodily harm. Retention periods are limited, so a preservation request early can matter more than a records request later.

What does a civil rights case cost?

Most of these matters are handled on a contingency fee, meaning no attorney's fee unless there is a recovery. Congress also provided for fee shifting in 42 U.S.C. § 1988, which allows a prevailing plaintiff to recover reasonable attorney's fees from the defendant — the provision that allows a meritorious claim to be brought even where the damages alone would not justify the cost of bringing it. Costs are explained in writing before you sign anything, and we will tell you honestly if we do not think a claim should be brought.

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