Opinion ID: 747621
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Absolute Immunity from Suit on Federal Claims

Text: 33 Judges and prosecutors have long been held to be absolutely immune from being sued on account of their judicial or prosecutorial acts. See Bradley v. Fisher, 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) 335, 20 L.Ed. 646 (1871); Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 96 S.Ct. 984, 47 L.Ed.2d 128 (1976); Butz v. Economou, 438 U.S. 478, 98 S.Ct. 2894, 57 L.Ed.2d 895 (1978); Burns v. Reed, 500 U.S. 478, 111 S.Ct. 1934, 114 L.Ed.2d 547 (1991). 6 Section 1983 was not intended to abolish this immunity (see Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547, 87 S.Ct. 1213, 18 L.Ed.2d 288 (1967)), and we have been given no reason to suppose that RICO was intended to abolish it either. It would be anomalous, we think, if officials who are immune from suit for alleged violations of the Constitution itself should be denied immunity from suit for alleged violations of a statute that does not incorporate the Constitution--particularly a statute as amorphous as RICO. See Linne v. Rideoutte, 971 F.2d 766 (D.C.Cir.1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 1004, 113 S.Ct. 1643, 123 L.Ed.2d 265 (1993), where the enactment of RICO was held not to have abrogated the immunities by which government officials and witnesses are protected from civil damage claims. To the same effect see Thillens, Inc. v. Community Currency Exch. Ass'n of Illinois, Inc., 729 F.2d 1128 (7th Cir.), cert. dismissed, 469 U.S. 976, 105 S.Ct. 375, 83 L.Ed.2d 342 (1984), a case involving state legislators. 34 Executive branch officials other than prosecutors may be entitled to absolute immunity from suit for acts that are functionally equivalent to the acts of prosecutors or judges. See Butz, 438 U.S. at 511-12, 98 S.Ct. at 2913-14 (agriculture department chief hearing officer, judicial officer, and agency attorney conducting administrative trial may be entitled to absolute immunity for acts connected with administrative proceedings brought against a vocal critic of the department); Watts v. Burkhart, 978 F.2d 269 (6th Cir.1992) (en banc) (members of state medical licensing board held entitled to absolute immunity from suit under § 1983 for damages resulting from revocation of a physician's license to practice medicine); Spear v. Town of West Hartford, 954 F.2d 63 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 819, 113 S.Ct. 66, 121 L.Ed.2d 33 (1992) (town manager and corporation counsel held entitled to absolute immunity for authorizing a civil lawsuit by the municipality against a newspaper editor and a publisher who had been critical of the municipal police department). 35 Absolute immunity is not the norm, however. For executive branch officials in both state government (see Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 247-48, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 1691-92, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974)) and federal government (see Butz, 438 U.S. at 507, 98 S.Ct. at 2911), the form of immunity once known as good faith immunity and now called qualified immunity is generally deemed sufficient to vindicate the important public interest in allowing government officials to do their work without undue fear of being haled into court for perceived missteps. 7 Butz held that in a suit for damages arising from unconstitutional action ... executive officials exercising discretion are entitled only to the qualified immunity specified in Scheuer, subject to those exceptional situations where it is demonstrated that absolute immunity is essential for the conduct of the public business. 438 U.S. at 507, 98 S.Ct. at 2911 (footnote omitted). [O]fficials who seek absolute exemption from personal liability for unconstitutional conduct must bear the burden of showing that public policy requires an exemption of that scope. Id. at 506, 98 S.Ct. at 2911. 36 The defendants in the case at bar argue vigorously that they are entitled to absolute immunity with respect to the alleged violations of the plaintiffs' civil rights, the activities in question being functionally equivalent to quasi-judicial activities for which absolute immunity has been held to be available. We conclude that the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity in any event, however, and we shall pretermit the question of their entitlement to absolute immunity. 37