42 USC 1987 Explained: Duties, Related Statutes, and Reporting

42 USC 1987 is a Reconstruction-era federal statute that directs U.S. attorneys, marshals and their deputies, and magistrate judges to prosecute anyone who violates certain federal civil rights laws, at government expense. It was enacted as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and reinforced by the Enforcement Act of 1870, at a time when Congress could not rely on state authorities to protect the rights of freed people and needed federal officers under a duty to act.¹ The statute still sits in Title 42, Chapter 21, though the specific criminal provisions it originally pointed to have been repealed and recodified into modern statutes in Title 18.

What Section 1987 Requires

The text is short and does one thing. It authorizes and requires four sets of federal officers to institute prosecutions for civil rights violations: United States attorneys, marshals and deputy marshals, magistrate judges appointed by the district and territorial courts, and any other officer specially empowered by the President.¹ Those officers are directed to arrest offenders and hold them for trial before a federal or territorial court with jurisdiction.

Two features of that language are worth pausing on. First, the verb is “required,” not “may.” Congress did not simply grant discretion; it imposed a duty. Second, the statute does not create any new crime or define any new right. It is a referral provision: it points at other laws and orders the listed officers to enforce them. The specific laws it points to are section 1990 of Title 42 and sections 5506 through 5516 and 5518 through 5532 of the Revised Statutes.

The Laws It Points To

Section 1990 addresses marshals themselves. It penalizes any marshal or deputy marshal who refuses to execute a warrant issued under section 1989, or who neglects to use proper diligence in carrying it out, and it imposes a $1,000 fine payable to the injured party.² Read alongside 1987, the effect is a closed loop: federal officers must prosecute civil rights violations, and those same officers can be penalized for shirking that duty.

The Revised Statutes sections named in 1987 have a more tangled history. Most were repealed in 1894 and 1909, but their substantive content was reenacted and eventually recodified during the 1948 overhaul of Title 18. The successor provisions are still on the books today and include 18 USC 241 (conspiracy against rights), 18 USC 242 (deprivation of rights under color of law), 18 USC 1581 (peonage), 18 USC 1583 (enticement into slavery), and 18 USC 1588 (transportation of slaves).¹ The prosecutorial duty in 1987 now runs through those modern statutes, even though the exact section numbers it once referenced are gone.

The Modern Criminal Statutes That Carry the Duty

Two Title 18 statutes do most of the work in current federal civil rights prosecutions, and both trace their lineage to the provisions 1987 was written to enforce.

18 USC 241 — Conspiracy Against Rights

Section 241 makes it a federal crime for two or more people to conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate anyone in the free exercise of a constitutional right. The conspirators do not have to be government officials, so the statute reaches private groups who band together to violate someone’s rights. The base penalty is up to ten years in prison. When the conspiracy results in death, or involves kidnapping or aggravated sexual abuse, the sentence can extend to life in prison or the death penalty.³

In United States v. Price (1966), three Mississippi law enforcement officers and fifteen private citizens were charged under sections 241 and 242 for conspiring to murder civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner. The Supreme Court held that private individuals acting in concert with state officials could be prosecuted under these statutes, a holding that remains central to federal civil rights enforcement.⁴

18 USC 242 — Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law

Section 242 targets anyone who, while acting under the authority of law, willfully deprives a person of constitutional rights. It is the statute federal prosecutors use against police officers, corrections officials, and other government actors who abuse their positions. A basic violation carries up to one year in prison. If the violation involves a dangerous weapon or causes bodily injury, the maximum rises to ten years. If it involves kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, an attempt to kill, or results in death, the defendant faces up to life in prison or the death penalty.⁵

Prosecutors must prove the defendant acted “willfully,” meaning with specific intent to deprive the victim of a known constitutional right. The Department of Justice has described this as a high bar, and it explains why relatively few excessive-force cases end in federal conviction even when the underlying conduct looks serious.⁶ The Rodney King prosecution, resolved in Koon v. United States (1996), showed both sides of that requirement. Two Los Angeles officers were convicted under section 242; two others were acquitted.⁷

Peonage and Involuntary Servitude

The peonage and slavery-related statutes carried forward from the Revised Statutes remain active tools as well. A conviction under 18 USC 1581 for holding a person in peonage carries up to twenty years in prison, and life imprisonment if the offense involves death, kidnapping, or aggravated sexual abuse.⁸

How 1987 Fits With the Civil Rights Statutes Around It

Section 1987 is specifically about criminal prosecution by federal officers. It does not give individuals a right to sue. That work is done by the neighboring provisions in Title 42, and it helps to know how they divide up:

42 USC 1983 lets a person whose constitutional rights were violated by someone acting under state authority sue that person in federal court. It is the primary vehicle for suits against police officers, correctional staff, school officials, and local government policies.⁹ Monroe v. Pape (1961) confirmed that officials who misuse state authority can be sued even when the state did not authorize the misconduct.¹⁰ Monell v. Department of Social Services (1978) extended that liability to municipalities and local government bodies where an official policy or widespread custom caused the violation, though not on a pure employer-liability theory.¹¹

42 USC 1985 provides a civil action against conspiracies to prevent federal officers from performing their duties, to obstruct justice or intimidate witnesses, or to deny equal protection of the laws. It can reach private individuals, not just government actors.¹²

42 USC 1986 creates liability for anyone who knows a section 1985 conspiracy is about to be carried out, has the power to prevent it, and does nothing. Claims under 1986 must be filed within one year.¹³

42 USC 1988 lets courts award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in suits under sections 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1986, and it allows expert witness fees in certain race discrimination claims. A judicial officer sued for actions taken in a judicial capacity cannot be held liable for attorney fees unless the challenged action was clearly beyond the court’s jurisdiction.¹⁴

Section 1987 is the criminal-enforcement piece of that same statutory neighborhood. If you are a private person wanting to bring your own suit, the operative statutes are 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1988. If a federal officer is deciding whether to prosecute, 1987 is what tells them they must.

How to Report a Suspected Violation

Because 1987 works through federal officers rather than through private lawsuits, the practical step for someone who believes a covered violation has occurred is to get the case in front of the officers who can act on it. Two channels are available, and neither requires a lawyer.

The FBI investigates civil rights complaints, including color-of-law violations, hate crimes, and human trafficking. Tips can go to a local FBI field office or through the online portal at tips.fbi.gov. Once the investigation closes, the FBI forwards its findings to the local U.S. Attorney’s Office and to the Department of Justice, which decide whether to prosecute.¹⁵

The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division also accepts complaints directly at civilrights.justice.gov. The intake form runs through seven steps covering contact information, the nature of the concern, where and when the incident occurred, and what happened. Reports can be submitted anonymously by leaving the contact section blank, and they can be filed on behalf of someone else.¹⁶

Penalties and Restitution After a Prosecution

When a prosecution under the statutes 1987 covers ends in conviction, the sentencing exposure depends on which provision was charged and what aggravating facts are present. Under 18 USC 242, the tiers run as follows:

Base violation: up to one year in prison
Dangerous weapon or bodily injury: up to ten years
Kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, or attempt to kill: up to life
Death of the victim: up to life or the death penalty

Section 241 conspiracy charges carry up to ten years for the base offense, with the same escalation to life or death when the aggravating circumstances apply.³

Restitution is not optional. Under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, a court sentencing a defendant for a covered civil rights offense must order the defendant to compensate the victim for medical expenses, therapy and rehabilitation, lost income, and funeral costs where the offense caused death. Defendants must also reimburse victims for child care, transportation, and other costs tied to attending the investigation and prosecution. Where property was damaged or destroyed, the defendant must either return it or pay its value, using the greater of the value at the time of sentencing or on the date of loss.¹⁷