In
United States law
The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as v ...
, absolute immunity is a type of
sovereign immunity
Sovereign immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine whereby a sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution, strictly speaking in modern texts in its own courts. A similar, stronger ...
for government officials that confers complete
immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
from criminal
prosecution
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...
and suits for damages, so long as officials are acting within the scope of their duties. The
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
has consistently held that government officials deserve some type of immunity from lawsuits for damages,
[''Harlow v. Fitzgerald'', 457 U.S. 800, 806 (1982).] and that the
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
recognized this immunity.
The Court reasons that this immunity is necessary to protect public officials from excessive interference with their responsibilities and from "potentially disabling threats of liability."
Absolute immunity contrasts with
qualified immunity
In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "clearly established statu ...
, which sometimes applies when certain officials may have violated constitutional rights or federal law.
Types
In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, absolute civil immunity applies to the following people and circumstances:
* lawmakers engaged in the legislative process;
[''Imbler v. Pachtman'', 424 U.S. 409, 418 (1976).]
* judges acting in their judicial capacity;
* government prosecutors while making charging decisions;
* executive officers while performing adjudicative functions;
* the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
;
* Presidential aides who first show that the functions of their office are so sensitive as to require absolute immunity, and who then show that they were performing those functions when performing the act at issue;
* witnesses while testifying in court (although they are still subject to perjury);
* lawyers in certain circumstances related to fraud
Presidential immunity
Although the U.S. president is sued daily in his governmental capacity, he normally is not sued in his personal capacity as being personally liable.
In 1982, the Supreme Court held in ''
Nixon v. Fitzgerald
''Nixon v. Fitzgerald'', 457 U.S. 731 (1982), was a US Supreme Court case that dealt with immunity from prosecution of government officials performing discretionary functions when their actions did not violate clearly-established law.
Background
...
'' that the president enjoys absolute immunity from civil litigation for official acts undertaken while he or she is president.
The Court suggested that this immunity was broad (though not limitless), applying to acts within the "outer perimeter" of the president's official duties.
Fifteen years after ''Fitzgerald'', the Supreme Court held in ''
Clinton v. Jones
''Clinton v. Jones'', 520 U.S. 681 (1997), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case establishing that a sitting President of the United States has no immunity from civil law litigation, in federal court, against him or her, for acts do ...
'' that the president does not possess absolute immunity from civil litigation surrounding acts he carried out that were not part of his official duties (which is often incorrectly presented as referring only to acts carried out before becoming president). The 2020 Supreme Court decision in ''
Trump v. Vance
''Trump v. Vance'', 591 U.S. ___ (2020), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark US Supreme Court case arising from a subpoena issued in August 2019 by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. against Mazars, then- ...
'' held that the president is subject to subpoenas in criminal prosecutions for personal conduct with the same legal threshold as anyone else.
There is also widespread agreement that no one is above the law and that the president does not have immunity for words and acts carried out while president that are not part of official duties, for example speeding (President Grant), rape, acceptance of assets or objects from foreign countries, or incitement to prevent Congress's certification of election results and the peaceful transition of power. However, since 1973, the
Office of Legal Counsel
The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is an office in the United States Department of Justice that assists the Attorney General's position as legal adviser to the President and all executive branch agencies. It drafts legal opinions of the Attorney ...
of the Department of Justice has established the policy that a sitting president may be investigated for crimes but that prosecution for these and other possible crimes must wait until the president is no longer in office.
Prosecutorial immunity
In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled in ''
Imbler v. Pachtman
''Imbler v. Pachtman'', 424 U.S. 409 (1976), was a United States Supreme Court case in which district attorneys or prosecutors were found to have full immunity from civil suits resulting from their government duties..
Imbler, a defendant in a mur ...
'' that prosecutors cannot be sued for injuries caused by their official actions during trial.
For instance, a prosecutor cannot be sued for purposely withholding exculpatory evidence, even if that act results in a wrongful conviction.
Absolute
prosecutorial immunity In United States law, absolute immunity is a type of sovereign immunity for government officials that confers complete immunity from criminal prosecution and suits for damages, so long as officials are acting within the scope of their duties. The Su ...
also exists for acts closely related to the criminal process' judicial phase.
However, the Supreme Court has held that prosecutors do not enjoy absolute immunity when they act as investigators by engaging in activities associated more closely with police functions.
Further, the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Maine
* District of Massachusetts
* ...
recently held that a prosecutor is not entitled to absolute prosecutorial discretion when performing purely administrative functions concerning a criminal prosecution. Additionally, the
Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
* Central District of Illinois
* Northern District of Ill ...
has ruled that a prosecutor is not immune from liability for fabricating evidence during pre-trial investigations and then introducing that evidence at trial.
Judicial immunity
Absolute judicial immunity applies when judges act in their judicial capacity.
[''Imbler v. Pachtman'', 424 U.S. 409, 418 (1976).] A judge enjoys this immunity when they exceed their jurisdiction, but not when they act without any jurisdiction. Judicial immunity also extends to non-judges when they act in a judicial or quasi-judicial capacity, such as a court-appointed referee in an equitable distribution case. Determining whether someone is acting in a judicial capacity and thus deserves absolute immunity requires using a functional test; that is, one must determine whether the person is acting functionally similarly to a judge.
Testimonial immunity
In 2019, the Trump administration resisted efforts by House Democrats to compel Trump aides to testify, asserting that close aides to the president enjoy absolute immunity from providing testimony to Congress.
But a federal judge ruled against the administration, stating that close presidential advisors—even those working in national security—do not possess absolute immunity from testifying in congressional inquiries, though these officials may invoke executive privilege whenever it is appropriate. The
U.S. Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
is appealing the decision. Previously, both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations had asserted absolute immunity in contexts like this, but the doctrine has been mostly untested in the judiciary.
Controversy
Some scholars urge courts to reconsider the scope of certain forms of absolute immunity, particularly prosecutorial immunity.
[Taddei, John P. ''Beyond Absolute Immunity: Alternative Protections for Prosecutors Against Ultimately.'' 106 Northwestern University Law Review 1883, 1883.] They insist that absolute prosecutorial immunity is not supported by either public policy or history, and that applying this doctrine in everyday situations is needlessly unworkable.
[Johns, Margaret Z., ''Reconsidering Absolute Prosecutorial Immunity'', 2005 B.Y.U. Law Review 53, 56.] Meanwhile, others push back, arguing that prosecutorial immunity is necessary to protect public servants from frivolous lawsuits.
See also
*
Sovereign immunity
Sovereign immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine whereby a sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution, strictly speaking in modern texts in its own courts. A similar, stronger ...
*
Qualified immunity
In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "clearly established statu ...
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Absolute Immunity
American legal terminology
Legal immunity
Common law legal terminology