''Harlow v. Fitzgerald'', 457 U.S. 800 (1982), was a case decided by the
United States Supreme Court
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 ...
involving the doctrines of
qualified immunity and
absolute 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 ...
.
Background
Arthur Ernest Fitzgerald was a deputy for management systems in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. He discovered $2 billion in
cost overruns and technical problems in the Lockheed C5-A program that had been concealed by the officials at the Pentagon. He testified before the Joint Economic Committee in
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
and was then blacklisted from roles of any significance.
Following the release of the
Watergate tapes
The Nixon White House tapes are audio recordings of conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Nixon administration officials, Nixon family members, and White House staff, produced between 1971 and 1973.
In February 1971, a sound-a ...
, Fitzgerald was mentioned by President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, who boasted that he had been responsible for firing Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald filed a lawsuit against government officials claiming that he lost his position as a contractor with the
US Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...
because of his
whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
testimony made before Congress in 1969.
Absolute 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 ...
was claimed by the officials involved, including Nixon and several of his aides, which generated several additional cases that made their way to the Supreme Court. Nixon was named in the lawsuit but was found to have absolute immunity in his role as president, as decided 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
...
''.
''Harlow v. Fitzgerald'' examined whether that degree of immunity extended to the President's aides.
Opinion
In an 8–1 decision, the Court held that government officials other than the President were generally entitled to qualified immunity. An official can obtain absolute immunity but must "first show that the responsibilities of his office embraced a function so sensitive as to require a total shield from liability. He must then demonstrate that he was discharging the protected function when performing the act for which liability is asserted."
Despite its immediate application to White House aides, the case is regarded as most important for its revision of the qualified immunity standard that is applicable to government actors, more generally. The Court held that "government officials performing discretionary functions, generally are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known."
References
External links
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United States Supreme Court cases
1982 in United States case law
Second Enforcement Act of 1871 case law
United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court
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