Cite as: 526 U. S. 687 (1999)
Opinion of Scalia, J.
II
To apply this methodology to the present case: There is no doubt that the cause of action created by § 1983 is, and was always regarded as, a tort claim. Thomas Cooley's treatise on tort law, which was published roughly contemporaneously with the enactment of § 1983, tracked Blackstone's view, see 3 W. Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 115- 119 (1768), that torts are remedies for invasions of certain rights, such as the rights to personal security, personal liberty, and property. T. Cooley, Law of Torts 2-3 (1880). Section 1983 assuredly fits that description. Like other tort causes of action, it is designed to provide compensation for injuries arising from the violation of legal duties, see Carey v. Piphus, 435 U. S. 247, 254 (1978), and thereby, of course, to deter future violations.
This Court has confirmed in countless cases that a § 1983 cause of action sounds in tort. We have stated repeatedly that § 1983 "creates a species of tort liability," Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U. S. 409, 417 (1976); see also Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U. S. 477, 483 (1994); Memphis Community School Dist. v. Stachura, 477 U. S. 299, 305 (1986); Smith v. Wade, 461 U. S. 30, 34 (1983); Carey, supra, at 253; Hague v. Committee for Industrial Organization, 307 U. S. 496, 507 (1939) (opinion of Roberts, J.) (describing a claim brought under a predecessor of § 1983 as seeking relief for "tortious invasions of alleged civil rights by persons acting under color
Inc. v. Wood, 369 U. S. 469, 471 (1962); Parsons v. Bedford, 3 Pet. 433, 446-447 (1830); E. Re & J. Re, Cases and Materials on Remedies 46 (4th ed. 1996)—but that would not render the nuisance suit any less a tort suit, so that if damages were sought a jury would be required. So also here: Some § 1983 suits do not require a jury because only equitable relief is sought. But since they are tort suits, when damages are requested, as they are in the present case, a jury must be provided. Thus, the relief sought is an important consideration in the Seventh Amendment inquiry, but contrary to Justice Souter's belief it is a consideration separate from the determination of the analogous common-law cause of action.
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