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Dombrowski v. Eastland, 387 U.S. 82 (1967)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Dombrowski v. Eastland, 387 U.S. 82 (1967)
Dombrowski v. Eastland No. 118 Argued February 20, 1967 Decided May 15, 1967 387 U.S. 82
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Petitioners claim that respondents, Chairman of the Internal Security Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee’s chief counsel, tortiously entered into and participated in a conspiracy with Louisiana officials to seize petitioners’ property and records in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Louisiana courts held the arrests and searches illegal. Here, the court below, while recognizing difficulty in concluding that there were no disputed issues of fact respecting petitioners’ claim, upheld summary dismissal of the action on the ground of respondents’ legislative immunity.
Held: Since there is no evidence of the respondent Chairman’s "involvement in any activity that could result in liability," the complaint as to him was properly dismissed. The doctrine of legislative immunity protects
legislators engaged "in the sphere of legitimate legislative activity," . . . not only from the consequences of litigation’s results, but also from the burden of defending themselves.
However, the doctrine of legislative immunity is less absolute when applied to officers or employees of legislative bodies. There is a sufficient factual dispute with respect to the alleged participation in the conspiracy of the subcommittee’s chief counsel to require that a trial be had. The legal consequences of such participation, if it occurred, cannot be determined prior to the factual refinement of trial. The judgment below is therefore reversed as to the subcommittee’s chief counsel. 123 U.S.App.D.C.190, 358 F.2d 821, affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Dombrowski v. Eastland, 387 U.S. 82 (1967) in 387 U.S. 82 Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=17TC6A7F9P4TWA2.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Dombrowski v. Eastland, 387 U.S. 82 (1967), in 387 U.S. 82, Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=17TC6A7F9P4TWA2.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Dombrowski v. Eastland, 387 U.S. 82 (1967). cited in 1967, 387 U.S. 82. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=17TC6A7F9P4TWA2.
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