Bureaucracy: Constitutional Constraints and Administrative Behavior in the U.S.

Constitutional law in the United States is central to public administrative operations and decision making, regarding the treatment of clients and customers, public personnel, contractors, patients in public mental health facilities, prisoners, and individuals involved in street-level regulator encounters with police and other public employees. The federal courts, including the Supreme Court, consider knowledge of legal doctrines pertaining to substantive, procedural due process, privacy, equal protection, and other constitutional rights to be a basic job requirement for all public personnel in the United States. Public employees who lack an adequate understanding of the constitutional law affecting their jobs risk committing constitutional torts and, consequently, being sued personally for money damages.