Harlow v. Fitzgerald

Harlow v. Fitzgerald
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 30, 1981 Decided June 24, 1982
Full case name	Bryce Harlow, et al. v. A. Ernest Fitzgerald
Citations	457 U.S. 800 (more) 102 S. Ct. 2727; 73 L. Ed. 2d 396; 1982 U.S. LEXIS 139
Prior history	Cert. to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Holding
Presidential aides were not entitled to absolute immunity, but instead deserved qualified immunity.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan, Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell, Jr. · William Rehnquist John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Case opinions
Majority	Powell, joined by Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor
Concurrence	Brennan, joined by Marshall, Blackmun
Concurrence	Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun
Concurrence	Blackmun
Concurrence	Rehnquist
Dissent	Burger

Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982), was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court involving the doctrines of qualified immunity and absolute immunity. The case held that the aides were generally entitled to qualified immunity; however, an aide could 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 in the case at bar, the case is regarded as most importance for its clarification 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"

External links

• Text of Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982) is available from:  Findlaw  Justia