2000 — Liberal judicial activists eagerly seize opportunities to expand unsound or dubious precedents. In 1971, the Supreme Court had ruled in Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents that the Constitution confers a claim for damages against a federal agent for allegedly unconstitutional conduct. Writing for a Second Circuit panel in Malesko v. Correctional Services Corp., Judge Sonia Sotomayor rules that a Bivens claim may also be made against a private corporation acting under color of federal law.
One year later, the Supreme Court will reverse the Second Circuit ruling by a 5-4 vote.