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Taking Supremacy Seriously: The Contrariety Of Official Immunities, Donald L. Doernberg
Taking Supremacy Seriously: The Contrariety Of Official Immunities, Donald L. Doernberg
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Immunities from suit, whether for governments or government officials, occupy a semi-sacred place in our jurisprudence. Trumpeting sovereign immunity, state and federal governments have long asserted that they are not subject to suit unless they have consented, and the courts have supported them. The U.S. Supreme Court has also created common law immunities for government officials and municipalities. Both kinds of immunity rest on a pervasive misunderstanding of English legal history and a convenient disinclination to consider the distinctive history and political philosophy that underlies the federal government. This Article does not examine the nuances of the official and municipal …
Bad Faith Exception To Prosecutorial Immunity For Brady Violations, Bennett L. Gershman
Bad Faith Exception To Prosecutorial Immunity For Brady Violations, Bennett L. Gershman
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Part I of this Article discusses Imbler’s adoption of absolute immunity for prosecutors. Part II discusses Imbler’s extension of absolute immunity to a prosecutor’s violation of his disclosure duty under Brady v. Maryland. Part III describes the ease with which prosecutors are able to evade the Brady rule and the difficulty of enforcing compliance with Brady. Part IV discusses the absence of any meaningful sanctions to deter and punish prosecutors for willful violations of Brady. Part V proposes a bad faith exception to absolute immunity of prosecutors for Brady violations.