color of law
Governmental authority's guise
Color of law refers to the appearance or pretense of legal authority.
Actions taken under color of law seem officially sanctioned but may exceed or abuse actual legal power.
The phrase appears most often in civil rights contexts, where officials violate constitutional rights while acting in their official capacity: The officer, acting under color of law, conducted an illegal search.
A police officer making an unlawful arrest operates under color of law—using the badge's authority for improper ends.
Unlawful acts by officers
- excessive forceUnwarranted severity in restraint
- false arrestIllegal detention of someone
- qualified immunityLegal shield for government agents
- seizureForcible taking or convulsion
brutality · coercion · intimidation · harassment · retaliation · wrongful imprisonment · abuse of power · corruption
State's capacity to rule
- police powerState's right to govern
- public officeGovernmental role through election
- delegated authorityPower granted by another
- sovereign immunityState's protection from lawsuits
official capacity · state actor · governmental authority · public official · jurisdiction · mandate · executive authority · legislative authority
Based on false grounds
- unauthorized useEmploying without consent
- unauthorized actionConduct lacking proper approval
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
Post-Civil War constitutional addition
- due processGuaranteed judicial fairness
- equal protectionUniform legal treatment
- civil libertiesRights limiting government power
- constitutional rightsLegally protected individual freedoms
civil rights attorney · consent decree · Civil Rights Act · Title VII · systemic discrimination · institutional racism · voting rights · desegregation
police misconduct
Unlawful acts by officers
- excessive forceUnwarranted severity in restraint
- false arrestIllegal detention of someone
- qualified immunityLegal shield for government agents
seizure · brutality · coercion · intimidation · harassment · retaliation · wrongful imprisonment · abuse of power · corruption · misconduct
government power
State's capacity to rule
- police powerState's right to govern
- public officeGovernmental role through election
- delegated authorityPower granted by another
sovereign immunity · official capacity · state actor · governmental authority · public official · jurisdiction · mandate · executive authority · legislative authority · oversight
pretextual
Based on false grounds
- unauthorized useEmploying without consent
- unauthorized actionConduct lacking proper approval
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
Fourteenth Amendment
Post-Civil War constitutional addition
- due processGuaranteed judicial fairness
- equal protectionUniform legal treatment
- civil libertiesRights limiting government power
constitutional rights · civil rights attorney · consent decree · Civil Rights Act · Title VII · systemic discrimination · institutional racism · voting rights · desegregation · freedom of assembly
color of lawlawful authority
Power granted by law
legitimate authority · due process · constitutional authority · rule of law · legal sanction
color, colour, law, colors, colours, colored, coloured, colorful, colourful