Judges, prosecutors, legislators, and witnesses receive absolute immunity for functions integral to their roles. The immunity is functional rather than positional, so administrative and investigative acts may fall outside it.
It defeats claims entirely without regard to motive.
Alternative Names:
Absolute Immunity Defense|Functional Immunity
Why it Matters?
Functional analysis means the same official may have absolute immunity for some acts and only qualified immunity for others, and prosecutors performing investigative or administrative functions rather than advocacy fall into the latter category. Identifying which function the challenged conduct served determines the available protection. Absolute immunity resolves the claim entirely where it applies, without the clearly established analysis qualified immunity requires.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Is the immunity positional or functional?
Which prosecutorial acts fall outside?
