A
state actor is a term used in
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
to describe a person who is acting on behalf of a governmental body, and is therefore subject to regulation under the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bill of rightsA bill of rights is a list of the rights that are considered important and essential by a nation. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement by the government...
including the
FirstThe First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion", prohibiting the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech and infringing on the freedom of the...
,
FifthThe Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
and
Fourteenth AmendmentsThe Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, along with the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, was adopted after the Civil War as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. It was adopted on July 9, 1868....
, which prohibit the federal and state governments from violating certain rights and freedoms.
Although at first blush the term would seem to include only persons who are directly employed by the state, the United States Supreme Court has interpreted these amendments and
lawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
s passed pursuant to them to cover many persons who have only an indirect relationship with the government.
A
state actor is a term used in
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
to describe a person who is acting on behalf of a governmental body, and is therefore subject to regulation under the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bill of rightsA bill of rights is a list of the rights that are considered important and essential by a nation. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement by the government...
including the
FirstThe First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion", prohibiting the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech and infringing on the freedom of the...
,
FifthThe Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
and
Fourteenth AmendmentsThe Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, along with the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, was adopted after the Civil War as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. It was adopted on July 9, 1868....
, which prohibit the federal and state governments from violating certain rights and freedoms.
Although at first blush the term would seem to include only persons who are directly employed by the state, the United States Supreme Court has interpreted these amendments and
lawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
s passed pursuant to them to cover many persons who have only an indirect relationship with the government. Controversies have arisen, for example, over whether private companies that run towns (the "company-town") and prisons (traditionally a state function) can be held liable as state actors when they violate fundamental civil rights. This question remains unresolved, but the Supreme Court has held private citizens to be liable as state actors when they conspire with government officials to deprive people of their rights. Conversely, in
National Collegiate Athletic Association v. SmithNational Collegiate Athletic Association v. Smith, 525 U.S. 459 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the NCAA's receipt of dues payments from colleges and universities which received federal funds was not sufficient to subject the NCAA to a lawsuit under Title IX....
, the Supreme Court has found that the
National Collegiate Athletic AssociationThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a voluntary association of about 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada...
is not a state actor, despite its heavy reliance on state-supported educational institutions.
Unlike state actors, private actors are generally not required to afford individuals the constitutional rights mentioned above. In nearly all U.S. states, private shopping center owners can eject
protestProtest expresses relatively overt reaction to events or situations: sometimes in favor, though more often opposed. Protesters may organize a protest as a way of publicly and forcefully making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or government policy, or may undertake...
ers from their land for trespassing, and private
associationAssociation may refer to:*Voluntary association, a group of individuals who voluntarily enter into an agreement to accomplish a purpose** 501 non-profit organization** Professional association...
s can eject members or deny admission to applicants, with no warning and for no reason. But in a handful of states, notably
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, state constitutional protections and certain common law rights have been extended to limit private actors. California allows the peaceful exercise of free speech in private shopping centers (see
Pruneyard Shopping Center v. RobinsPruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins, , was a U.S. Supreme Court decision issued on June 9, 1980 which arose out of a free speech dispute between the Pruneyard Shopping Center in Campbell, California, and several local high school students...
(1980) and requires certain types of private actors to afford current or potential members a rudimentary version of procedural
due processDue process alternatively due process of law or the process that is due, is the principle that the government must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person according to the law...
called
fair procedureFair procedure is a common law doctrine that arises from a line of groundbreaking decisions of the Supreme Court of California dating back to the 1880s...
.