Opinion ID: 421796
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Introduction: The Basic Concept of Official Immunity

Text: 15 State and federal officials receive a judicially fashioned immunity for all discretionary acts arguably within the ambit of their authority. There are two basic forms of official immunity. The first, absolute [229 U.S.App.D.C. 182] immunity, bars a suit at the outset and frees the defendant official of any obligation to justify his actions. The second, qualified immunity, 8 is in the nature of an affirmative defense and protects an official from liability only if he can show that his actions did not contravene clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person in his position should have known. The levels of protection afforded by these two forms of immunity, once sharply different, are no longer so distinct. Qualified immunity remains an affirmative defense that must be pleaded by a defendant official, Harlow v. Fitzgerald, --- U.S. ----, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2737, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), but subjective motivation is no longer relevant and the defense--now defin[ed] ... essentially in objective terms, id., 102 S.Ct. at 2739--may appropriately be determined by the trial judge on summary judgment, id. On the other hand, under the functional analysis governing absolute immunity, see Butz v. Economou, 438 U.S. 478, 508-17, 98 S.Ct. 2894, 2911-16, 57 L.Ed.2d 895 (1978), a limited factual inquiry may in some cases be necessary to determine in what role the challenged function was exercised, Forsyth v. Kleindienst, 599 F.2d 1203, 1215 (3d Cir.1979), cert. denied, 453 U.S. 913, 101 S.Ct. 3147, 69 L.Ed.2d 997 (1981), thus precluding on occasion disposition at the Rule 12 stage. 16 Official immunity is principally justified as a shield against liability that will serve the public interest in the vigorous exercise of legitimate executive authority. Chagnon v. Bell, 642 F.2d 1248, 1256 (D.C.Cir.1980), cert. denied, 453 U.S. 911, 101 S.Ct. 3142, 69 L.Ed.2d 994 (1981). 9 Additional reasons for according official immunity, less frequently articulated but no less important, include the need to minimize the deterrent effect of potential personal liability on those who otherwise might enter public office, the perceived drain on valuable official time devoted to defense of myriad suits, the inequity of exposing officials to vicarious liability for the acts of subordinates, the notion that government servants owe a duty to the public rather than to the individual, and the idea that official accountability is more appropriately enforced through the ballot and in criminal or removal [229 U.S.App.D.C. 183] proceedings than in private civil suits. 10 17 In applying principles of official immunity, the Supreme Court has made it clear that absolute immunity is only available if the claim is based on performance of a governmental function so sensitive as to warrant complete freedom from suit. 11 Over the past decade, the Court has sought to delimit the doctrine by identifying certain functionally discrete areas of official conduct--characterized by their unique importance or constitutional status--that deserve absolute immunity from suit for violations of federal law; among the positions so identified are those of the President, 12 legislators, 13 judges, 14 and various executive officials exercising quasi-judicial duties--including prosecutors. 15