HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 14.9.3.3.2 Acting under Color of State Law
Tenants and applicants seeking to enforce federal rights under Section 1983 must prove that the defendant is a person who acted “under color of state law.”1056 Persons acting under state law are those “who carry a badge of authority of a State and represent it in some capacity, whether they act in accordance with their authority or misuse it.”1057 Generally, “a public employee acts under color of state law while acting in his official capacity or while exercising his responsibilities pursuan