Roberto Hernandez Miranda v. Clark County, Nevada Morgan Harris Thomas Rigsby

Opinion by Chief Judge SCHROEDER; Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge KLEINFELD; Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge SILVERMAN.

We took this case en banc to consider whether the head of a county public defender’s office, as the administrative head of an organization formed to represent criminal defendants, may be held accountable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for a policy that leads to a denial of an individual’s right to effective representation of counsel. We take principal guidance from the leading Supreme Court decisions on state and municipal liability, Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 , 98 S.Ct. 2018 , 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978) and City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 , 109 S.Ct. 1197 , 103 L.Ed.2d 412 (1989), as well as the leading decision considering § 1983 liability of a public defender, Polk County v. Dodson, 454 U.S. 312 , 102 S.Ct. 445 , 70 L.Ed.2d 509 (1981).

Polk County held that when an assistant public defender is performing the traditional role of an attorney for a client, the lawyer is not a state actor. Id. at 318-19 , 102 S.Ct. 445 . The case left open the possibility, however, that there may be liability for…