Administrative note: I’ve added two new categories for indexing posts:
Equal protection comes up often in land use litigation when the government discriminates against a person for belonging to a protected class, and when a landowner asserts she was singled out for different treatment than others who are similarly situated (the “class of one” / Olech claim). The federal civil rights statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is a common vehicle to litigate constitutional land use claims in either federal or state courts:
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation,custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District ofColumbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of theUnited States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to thedeprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by theConstitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in anaction at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress,except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an actor omission taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctiverelief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated ordeclaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section,any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbiashall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.
Since “property” is a right secured by the Constitution and laws, this statute provides a cause of action for claims such as regulatory takings, due process, and equal protection, among others.