Stephen Buckley v. Michael Fitzsimmons et al. (509 U.S. 259)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 24, 1993 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 509 U.S. 259 · 113 S. Ct. 2606
- Decided
- June 24, 1993
- Term
- October Term 1992
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. In an action brought under 42 U. S. C. § 1983, petitioner seeks damages from respondent prosecutors for allegedly fabricating evidence diming the preliminary investigation of a crime and making false statements at a press conference announcing the return of an indictment. The questions presented are whether respondents are absolutely immune from liability on either or both of these claims. As the case comes to us, we have no occasion to consider whether some or all of respondents’ conduct may be protected by qualified immunity. Moreover, we make two important assumptions about the case: first, that petitioner’s allegations are entirely true; and, second, that they allege constitutional violations for which § 1983 provides a remedy. Our statement of facts is therefore derived entirely from petitioner’s complaint and is limited to matters relevant to respondents’ claim to absolute immunity. I Petitioner commenced this action on March 4,1988, following his release from jail in Du Page County, Illinois. He had been incarcerated there for three years on charges growing out of the highly publicized murder of Jeanine Nicarico, an 11-year-old child, on February 25, 1983. The complaint, named 17 defendants, including Du Page County, its sheriff and seven of his assistants, two expert witnesses and the estate of a third, and the five…
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