Supreme Court rejects inmate's plea for damages over excessive force claims

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a Virginia inmate cannot sue prison officials for damages over claims they used excessive force in breach of his Eighth Amendment rights.  

It’s the justices’ latest rejection of so-called Bivens claims, which let people sue federal officials in their individual capacity for monetary damages over constitutional rights violations. 

“For the past 45 years, this Court has consistently declined to extend Bivens to new contexts,” the justices wrote in an unsigned opinion.