When law enforcement officers violate the constitutional rights of the people they are sworn to protect, the consequences for victims can be devastating: physical injuries, emotional trauma, wrongful imprisonment, and a shattered sense of trust in the justice system. Missouri has seen a troubling pattern of civil rights violations by police, from the events in Ferguson that drew national attention to more recent cases involving City of St. Louis officers’ response to protests and officers who abused their authority during routine traffic stops. At Pleban & Associates, civil rights litigation is not a sideline. It is a core part of our practice. Our attorneys have taken on police departments, municipalities, and state agencies and achieved significant results, including a $5 million settlement for a Black police officer beaten by fellow officers while working undercover at a St. Louis protest. J.C. Pleban is recognized by Best Lawyers® in 2026 for Civil Rights Law, a distinction earned through peer review by other top attorneys in the field. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers every year since 2015.
Understanding Section 1983: The Foundation of Civil Rights Claims
The primary legal tool for holding law enforcement accountable is 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal statute that allows individuals to sue government employees and public entities for violating their constitutional rights. Section 1983 does not create new rights. Instead, it provides a mechanism to enforce the rights already guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, including the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, the right to be free from excessive force, the right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, the First Amendment right to free speech and assembly, and the right to equal protection under the law. To prevail on a Section 1983 claim, you must prove that a person acting under color of state law (such as a police officer, sheriff’s deputy, or correctional officer) deprived you of a right secured by the Constitution and because of that you were damaged. These cases are typically filed in federal court, and they require attorneys with specific experience litigating against governmental entities.
Types of Civil Rights Violations We Handle
Excessive Force and Police Brutality Excessive force occurs when an officer uses more physical force than is reasonably necessary under the circumstances. This can range from unnecessarily violent arrests to the unjustified use of Tasers, batons, pepper spray, K-9s or firearms. An excessive force claim is evaluated under the reasonableness standard of the Fourth Amendment. The test looks at whether an objectively reasonable officer—at the time, not in hindsight—would have used that amount of force. The Supreme Court of the United States has established some relevant considerations, which include: the severity of the crime; whether the suspect poses a threat of harm to others; whether the suspect is resisting arrest; and other factors, such as whether the situation is “tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving,” which would force an officer to make “split-second judgments” about how much force is necessary. Our firm has represented victims of severe police violence, including cases involving officers who assaulted civilians at their homes, during protests and during traffic stops, to name a few. False Arrest and Wrongful Imprisonment Law enforcement officers must have probable cause to arrest you. An arrest without probable cause may violate your Fourth Amendment rights and can give rise to a federal civil rights claim. Wrongful imprisonment cases can involve people held without charges, detained on fabricated evidence, or imprisoned after wrongful convictions. Unlawful Search and Seizure The Fourth Amendment protects you from unreasonable searches of your person, home, vehicle, and personal property. Officers generally need a warrant or your voluntary consent to conduct a search. When officers violate these protections (searching your phone without a warrant, for example), they violate your constitutional rights. Pleban & Associates is currently representing victims of a former Florissant police officer and former Missouri State Highway Patrol officer who both accessed women’s phones during traffic stops and stole private photos and videos without any legal authority. These cases demonstrate the real-world consequences of Fourth Amendment violations and the importance of holding officers accountable. Wrongful Conviction When law enforcement misconduct leads to a wrongful conviction through fabricated evidence, coerced confessions, or suppression of exculpatory material, the harm is incalculable. Pleban & Associates has experience overturning wrongful convictions and pursuing civil remedies for those who were unjustly imprisoned.
Why Civil Rights Cases Require Specialized Attorneys
Civil rights cases against law enforcement are among the most challenging in all of litigation. You are suing the government, an adversary with vast resources, experienced lawyers, and the institutional weight of the justice system behind it. Individual defendants in these cases raise qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that protects officers from liability unless their conduct violated clearly established law. Overcoming qualified immunity requires attorneys who are deeply familiar with constitutional law precedent and can demonstrate that the officer’s actions crossed a well-defined legal line. These cases are also almost always litigated in federal court, which has different procedural rules and a different pace than state court. At Pleban & Associates, we are as comfortable in federal court as we are in state court, and our experience includes appeals to the federal appellate courts and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Our Track Record in Civil Rights Litigation
Results matter. Pleban & Associates has achieved significant outcomes in civil rights cases across Missouri. These include a $5 million settlement for a Black undercover police officer assaulted by fellow officers during the 2017 Jason Stockley protests in St. Louis, federal lawsuits on behalf of victims of a former Florissant police officer indicted on 21 federal counts for violating women’s Fourth Amendment rights during traffic stops, a federal lawsuit challenging the police shooting death of young man, alleging that body camera and surveillance footage contradicts official police reports, and representation in cases following the federal indictment of a former Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper who conducted unlawful traffic stops targeting women and taking images from their phones. These cases reflect our commitment to accountability at every level of law enforcement, from individual officers to the departments and municipalities that enable misconduct.
What to Do If Your Civil Rights Have Been Violated
If you believe your constitutional rights have been violated by a law enforcement officer, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your potential legal claim. First, do not resist, even if the arrest or search is unlawful. Resisting creates additional legal complications and puts your safety at risk. You can address the violation after the fact with the help of an attorney. Document everything. Write down the names and badge numbers of the officers involved, note the date, time, and location, and identify any witnesses. Photograph any injuries. If possible, preserve any video or audio evidence. None of this should be done during the arrest though. Seek medical attention for any injuries, even those that seem minor. Medical records create important evidence linking your injuries to the incident. Contact an experienced civil rights attorney as soon as possible. Evidence in these cases (including body camera footage, dispatch records, and internal investigation files) can be d subject to destruction if not preserved promptly. Because of this, it is important to get an attorney early to assist.
Damages Available in Civil Rights Cases
Successful civil rights plaintiffs can recover compensatory damages for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and reputational harm. In cases involving particularly egregious conduct, courts may also award punitive damages against individuals to punish the wrongdoer and deter future misconduct. Attorney’s fees and litigation costs are also recoverable under federal civil rights statutes.