Bell v. Hood
United States Supreme Court
327 U.S. 678 (1946)
Hood and other FBI agents and police officers (defendants) arrested and imprisoned Bell and other plaintiffs, searched their homes, and seized their possessions. The plaintiffs sued for damages, asserting the court's jurisdiction rested on federal questions arising under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, claiming the arrest and imprisonment violated due process and the search and seizure violated the Fourth Amendment. The trial court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, and the plaintiffs appealed.
Whether a federal court's jurisdiction over a claim asserting a constitutional violation is defeated by the possibility that the complaint might ultimately fail to state a claim on which relief could be granted.