Opinion ID: 474108
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Baker and Oldham

Text: 24 Official immunity also protects Baker and Oldham from monetary damages. Howe alleges that Oldham's letter, which was placed in Howe's public record, deprived him of a liberty interest without due process. This letter stated: Because of prior problems with [Howe's] credibility as a witness, I feel I cannot conscientiously, within my power and oath as a prosecutor, file this case. Howe seeks to hold Baker liable for the role he played in the events that precipitated the letter. 25 In 1978 the seminal case on determining whether public statements deprived the object of those statements of a liberty interest was Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693, 96 S.Ct. 1155, 47 L.Ed.2d 405 (1976), where the Supreme Court rejected the proposition that a stigmatizing statement standing alone can support a claim based on procedural due process. The Court held that in order to be actionable, the stigmatizing statement had to deprive the person of a right held under state law. Id. at 708, 96 S.Ct. at 1164. This definition of a liberty interest has come to be known as the stigma-plus test. 26 None of the plusses identified by Howe had been clearly established as protected under Florida law in 1978. 4 Neither the Florida courts nor this court nor the Supreme Court had addressed the interaction of the Florida law and the Paul test. Only in 1980 when this court decided Marrero v. City of Hialeah, 625 F.2d 499 (5th Cir.1980), did any substantial degree of certainty obtain in this area. As Howe admits on appeal, Marrero interpreted the invaded interest which would constitute the 'plus.'  Appellant's Brief at 16. It is obvious from a reading of the opinion in Marrero that it is an interpretation, not a reiteration. Appellant's Brief at 16. That Marrero relied on Paul does not imply that Paul clearly established the law in this area. Paul set forth a general test. The test still had to be interpreted and applied in any given situation. From reading Paul a reasonable person could conclude that the result in Marrero was not a foregone conclusion. Baker and Oldham cannot be held liable for damages.