The authors hypothesize that the adoption of community- oriented policing practices could lead to an increase in civil liability filings through the following three avenues: the resuscitation of State tort actions and negligence claims; through Section 1983 suits as the threshold of the "color of law" becomes clouded; and through ambiguities in the notion of "legal duty." The authors base this hypothesis on U.S. Supreme Court precedents, the established policing and civil liability literatures, and common sense. Since civil suits are legal matters, the authors speculate about how established legal conceptions, definitions, defenses, and practices available to the public and the police may be affected by community-oriented policing policies. This paper argues that existing case law and legal principles may not provide enough guidance on how best to implement community-oriented policing without increasing the potential for liability claims until cases are filed and appeals decisions accumulate. It explains why the adoption of community- oriented policing is likely to affect the filing of civil liability claims. A review of the literature on civil liability focuses on legal issues relevant to police civil litigation. Using filed cases as examples, the authors examine current changes in the filing of claims as changing police practices and ambiguous legal standards converge. Some policy implications for police managers are discussed. 5 notes, 73 references, and a list of 35 cited cases