Nahmod Law

While much attention has been paid recently to section 1983 qualified immunity, it may be useful to spend a little time on absolute immunity as well. Among other things, absolute immunity is even more potent for defendants than qualified immunity, even though the gap has narrowed in the past few decades. Defendants protected by absolute immunity are able to have section 1983 suits dismissed regardless of the constitutional merits (which are not reached). In addition, the doctrinal underpinnings of qualified immunity, including the “background to tort liability,” may be found in an earlier Supreme Court decision about absolute immunity, Tenney v. Brandhove, 341 U.S. 367 (1951), about which I have previously written at some length.

I was recently interviewed by John Ross of the Institute for Justice about the origins of, and justifications for, absolute immunity. Other scholars were interviewed as well.

The podcast lasts for about one hour and it can be accessed here: https://ij.org/sc_long_podcast/season-2-ep-8/

For much more about absolute immunity, check out Chapter 7 of my treatise, CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES LITIGATION: THE LAW OF SECTION 1983 (West 2020) and various law review articles, including my own, referred to in the podcast. You might also want to search “absolute immunity” on this blog.

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