In Allen et al. v. McCurry, 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a state court defendant who had fully and fairly litigated Fourth Amendment claims during his trial and appeal process could not subsequently raise those same issues in a federal habeas corpus proceeding under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871. The case involved respondent McCurry's conviction for robbery in Missouri State Court despite his claim that evidence was seized from him unlawfully by St Louis police officers without probable cause or warrant which violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. After exhausting all appeals at state level, he filed suit in Federal District Court alleging violation of civil rights but it was dismissed on grounds of collateral estoppel (issue preclusion). On further appeal to Eighth Circuit Court, it reversed district court’s decision stating federal courts should independently review constitutional claims regardless if they were decided earlier by state courts but this was overturned by Supreme Court holding issue preclusion applicable to Section 1983 suits.

In the dissenting opinion for Allen et al. v. McCurry, Justice Brennan argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with both precedent and congressional intent regarding Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act. He contended that a state court judgment should not preclude federal review in a civil rights case unless it is shown that the constitutional claim was fully and fairly litigated in state court, which he believed had not occurred in this instance. Furthermore, he expressed concern about potential harm to individuals' ability to seek redress for violations of their constitutional rights if they are barred from bringing claims under Section 1983 due to prior state court proceedings on related matters. In his view, such an approach would undermine Congress's purpose in enacting Section 1983 - namely, providing a federal remedy when state courts fail to adequately protect individuals' constitutional rights.