Can Cabinet Secretaries Be Sued

[Me.]

if they are causing harm, much like we expect DeVos to do to public schools?

[Squinch]

1. Great question. I don't know the answer, but I hope someone does.

[PoliticAverse]

2. You can only sue the federal government in limited circumstances...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_immunity_in_the_United_States

[elleng]

3. Prolly not for personal liability but

if the Secretary/Administration/Department of Education fails to do it job in a particular way, yes, with difficulty. See Sovereign Immunity above.

An old, difficult case: Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83 (1968),[1] was a United States Supreme Court case holding that a taxpayer has standing to sue the government to prevent an unconstitutional use of taxpayer funds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flast_v._Cohen

[BainsBane]

4. Not for what they do in their government positions

but if it is something outside their government responsibilities, I believe they can be. The Paula Jones established that the President can be sued. But no one can sue the Secretary of Education because they believe the education policy harmful. There would have to be a constitutional issue, and the suit would be to the federal government and not toward the individual.

Hopefully we'll hear from a lawyer, but that's my understanding based on what I've read in the past.

[Me.]

5. Thanks For All The Answers

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. Nope.

At least not personally for what they do in the course of their work. You can sue one for negligence if he runs over you with his car, but you can't sue Rick Perry for fucking up the Department of Energy, for example. There are legal principles of sovereign immunity and discretionary act immunity that shield government officials from liability for most of what they do as government officials.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Even if you could (which you can't, as explained in this thread),

they wouldn't have to pay damages out of their own pockets. The government (in other words, us) would indemnify them.

The only kinds of legal claims against cabinet officers that I can think of that could be remotely possible would be a writ of mandamus - a court commands a government official to do something that the law requires him to do - or a writ of prohibition, where a court tells a government official not to do something the law prohibits him from doing. These are limited to very unusual circumstances and are rarely used.

[Hamlette]

8. You name the agency as the defendant, it happens all the time.

My agency gets sued on a regular basis. Taxpayer suits get thrown out quickly but some can linger. Think Kelly v Goldberg (establishing rights for welfare recipients) or Java v California Unemployment office (to establish rights for unemployment recipients. (I'm not sure of the exact name of the case, we cite it as Java and I have to do a google or Lexis search for the correct citation). We get sued by former employees (after they have gone through civil review) by clients who argue we have violated their civil rights etc etc etc. There are some hoops to jump through (like you have to give the agency a chance to review it first). But it happens all the time. You don't get millions in damages but they will pay you what you lost (welfare unemployment etc).

[Me.]

9. Can A Suit Be Used As A Means

To stop action, like taking Obamacare to the courts?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. That's already been to the Supreme Court, which upheld most of it.

However, although they upheld its constitutionality, the Supreme Court can't prevent Congress from repealing it, which is a legislative function (separation of powers and all that).

[Hamlette]

13. you mean could you challenge another law? Sure, but you need constitutional grounds

like unlawful taking of property which is what they argued was wrong with Obamacare mandate.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. But you can't sue the official personally - which I think was the OP's question.

If you jump through all the hoops of the Federal Tort Claims Act or other requirements you might be able to sue the agency (although the agency head will be named as the defendant), but not the agency head personally.

[Hamlette]

12. you can only get the head of the agency if he/she was not acting in official capacity

or acting beyond his/her authority.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. Exactly.

I can sue Betsy DeVos if she runs over me with her car but not if she screws up the Department of Education.