Yes. Your ability to file a lawsuit against someone is relatively unlimited. Whether you will win that lawsuit, however, is a different question. But because your probation officer has a significant impact on your life, the ability to sue them is even more important.

What can you sue your probation officer for?

You can sue your probation officer if they commit a tort against you. A “tort” is a civil wrong. In general, a tort is when one person harms another person. If you file a tort lawsuit against a probation officer, you would be the plaintiff, and the officer would be the defendant. You can seek money damages for their wrongdoing as well as an order stopping the conduct.

Torts can be either intentional or unintentional. These are examples of intentional torts:

• Battery. When an officer touches you in a harmful or offensive way.
• Assault. When you reasonably fear that an officer is going to touch you in a harmful or offensive way.
• False Imprisonment. When an officer wrongly holds you in a specific location.

These torts involve intentional acts by the officer, making them intentional torts. They also involve physical contact with you, making them physical torts. Some intentional torts are not physical, however. An example is defamation. If your probation officer wrongly damages your reputation by what they say, it is possible that you could file a defamation claim. Defamation is a non-physical tort.

Torts are not limited to intentional wrongdoing, though. A common example of an unintentional tort is negligence. Someone is negligent when they are careless or fail to otherwise fulfill a duty they owe to another person. A probation officer could be negligent if they do something or fail to do something that a reasonable person in their position would do that harms you.

While these are not the only potential claims you could have against your probation officer, they are some of the more common ones.

How do you file a suit against your probation officer?

Your probation officer is a government official. Therefore, you will need to file a Section 1983 lawsuit to sue them. Section 1983 suits allow you to sue state officials in federal court. To file a Section 1983 suit, the officer must have harmed you while they were acting on behalf of the state. In other words, they must have violated your rights while doing their job as your probation officer.

Under Section 1983, you can sue for two kinds of relief. The first is money damages. If you win this suit, you may win actual money. You can ask for a certain amount of money, but you may get a smaller amount.

The second form of relief is called an injunction. An injunction is an order from a judge. This order prohibits a person from taking or makes a person take some kind of action. For example, if you sue your probation officer for a defamation, a judge might order them to stop saying false and damaging things about you.

The Takeaway:

You can sue your probation officer. Usually, this means you will file a tort lawsuit against them. Torts can be intentional or unintentional, and they can also be physical and non-physical. To sue your probation officer, you must file a Section 1983 suit. If you win, a judge can award you money or issue an injunction.