Washington, D.C., Jan. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed an amicus curiae brief today advocating for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Mohamud v. Weyker. NCLA asks the Justices to rule that Americans maintain the right to pursue damages against state or local law enforcement officers who violate their constitutional rights—even when those officers were cross-deputized at the time of the rights violations. Cross-deputized officers have limited federal authority to fulfill specific duties on joint federal-state task forces, while maintaining the full authority of their state or local positions. But many courts across the country—including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit here—have ruled that cross-deputized officers, who operate under both state and federal law, cannot be held liable for violating people’s civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Saint Paul, Minnesota police officer Heather Weyker allegedly framed teenager Hamdi Mohamud—among other innocent individuals—for the state-level crime of witness tampering, convincing another state officer to arrest her under false pretenses. As a result, Ms. Mohamud spent over two years behind bars in pre-trial detention before being released without charges, in addition to the 30 other individuals whom Officer Weyker supposedly had framed. Shockingly, the district court in this case ruled that Weyker was insulated from liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for her unconstitutional conduct as a state officer because she had been cross-deputized at the time and was thus also temporarily authorized to wield limited federal law enforcement authority—none of which applied to Weyker’s apparent framing of Ms. Mohamud. Section 1983 is the cause of action Congress created to allow federal lawsuits against state officers for deprivation of civil rights. Without it, Ms. Mohamud had no way to recover damages or to hold Weyker accountable for her deplorable actions, a problem the Eighth Circuit upheld.
The Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Egbert v. Boule rendered damages actions against federal officials largely unavailable to victims of constitutional violations. As a result, § 1983, enacted as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, is often a plaintiff’s only viable vehicle for recovering damages for constitutional violations committed by cross-deputized officers who operate under both state and federal law. Congress designed the Civil Rights Act of 1871 to deter state actors from abusing their authority and to provide victims a route to relief if such deterrence fails. Various courts nationwide undermine that purpose when they reject the § 1983 claims of plaintiffs suing cross-deputized officers and decide that these officers act exclusively under the authority of federal law, regardless of the particular facts or circumstances. That approach ignores a fundamental reality of modern law enforcement: state and local officers do not shed their state authority—or their constitutional accountability—simply by agreeing to assist a federal task force. Indeed, as NCLA’s amicus brief points out, St. Paul police’s memoranda of understanding with the federal joint task force assumed § 1983 liability still applies.
NCLA released the following statements:
“If a state or local police officer violates constitutional rights while exercising any degree of state authority, § 1983 supplies the remedy—period. Cross-deputization does not function as a get-out-of-court-free card. The lower courts’ contrary approach here nullifies the civil-rights remedy that Congress enacted, shielding even the most deplorable of bad actors from liability while leaving innocent victims without any meaningful pathway to relief—as this case starkly demonstrates.”
— Casey Norman, Litigation Counsel, NCLA
“If the Supreme Court doesn’t correct this issue, countless Americans will be left with no remedy for violations of their constitutional rights by state and local police.”
— Christian Clase, Constitutional Litigation Fellow, NCLA
“Kudos to our friends at the Institute for Justice for bringing this important case. It’s one thing for the Supreme Court to cabin the judicially created Bivens cause of action. But it would be quite another for the Court to tolerate this judicial crimping of the cause of action Congress created in section 1983 by saying it does not apply to cross-deputized officers. Justice demands that certiorari be granted in Mohamud v. Weyker.”
— Mark Chenoweth, President, NCLA
For more information visit the amicus page here.
ABOUT NCLA
NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.
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Joe Martyak New Civil Liberties Alliance 703-403-1111 joe.martyak@ncla.legal
