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Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9 (1991)
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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.
Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9 (1991)
Mireles v. Waco No. 91-311 Decided Oct. 21, 1991 502 U.S. 9
ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES
COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Respondent Waco, a public defender, filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeking damages from, inter alios, petitioner Mireles, a California Superior Court judge, for ordering the police, forcibly and with excessive force, to seize and bring him into the courtroom when he failed to appear for the calling of the calendar. The Federal District Court dismissed the complaint against the judge, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b), on the grounds of complete judicial immunity. However, the Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the judge was not acting in his judicial capacity when he requested and authorized the use of excessive force.
Held: The Court of Appeals erred in ruling that Judge Mireles’ alleged actions were not taken in his judicial capacity. Judicial immunity is an immunity from suit, not just from ultimate assessment of damages, and it can be overcome only if a judge’s actions are nonjudicial or were taken in the complete absence of all jurisdiction. Here, the judge’s function of directing police officers to bring counsel in a pending case before the court is a general function normally performed by a judge. That he may have made a mistake or acted in excess of his authority does not make the act nonjudicial. See, e.g., Forrester v. White, 484 U.S. 219, 227. His action was also taken in the very aid of his jurisdiction over the matter before him, and thus it cannot be said that the action was taken in the absence of jurisdiction.
Certiorari granted; reversed.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9 (1991) in 502 U.S. 9 Original Sources, accessed November 25, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=S4CZRLB4VWTR2KN.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9 (1991), in 502 U.S. 9, Original Sources. 25 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=S4CZRLB4VWTR2KN.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9 (1991). cited in 1991, 502 U.S. 9. Original Sources, retrieved 25 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=S4CZRLB4VWTR2KN.
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